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New-York, "^H 

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English Classics, Etc. 



Classes in English Literature, Reading, Grammar, etc. 

EDITED BT EMINENT ENGLISH AND AMERICAN SCHOLARS. 

Each Volume contains a Sketch of the Author's Life, Prefatory and 
Explanatory Notes, etc., etc. 

These Volumes are thoroughly adapted for Schools in which English 
Literature forms a branch of study, or where a carefully-selected por- 
tion of some English Classic is selected for minute examination, or 
for supplementary reading matter. The notes are unusually full and 
exhaustive, occupying in many v olumes ne a rly half the bo ok. Ety- 
molo<" r — L:L ^ tt ~~ 1 ~ J "- J -"" ~b more 

diffici frith all 

the h i I appre- 

philo- 






ciatio 
logics 



No. 1 
" 2 



" 10 
" 11 
41 12 
" 18 
" 14 

•« IS 

" 16 
" 1? 
" 18 
" 19 
" 20 
" 21 
" 22 
' 28 

" 24 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 






UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



T>tirci — rotms. 



Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. (Selections from Acts I., III. 

and IV.) 
Goldsmith's Traveller. 
Iloffg'a Queen's Wake. 
Coleridge's Ancient Mariner. 
Addison's Sir Roger de CoTerley. 
Gray's Elegy in a Country Churchyard. 
Scott's Lady of the Lake. (Canto I.) 
Shakespeare's As You Like It, etc. (Selections.') 
Shakespeare's King John and King Richard II. (Selections ) 
Shakespeare's King Henry IV., King Henry V., King Henry 

VT. (Selections.) 
Shakespeare's Henry VIII., and Julius Caesar. (Selections.; 
(CONTINUED.) 






ENGLISH CLASSICS— Continued. 

No. 85 Wordsworth's Excursion. (Book L) 

" 26 Pope's Essay on Criticism. 

'* 27 Spenser's Faerie Queene. (Cantos I. and II.) 

. " 28 Cowper's Task. (Book I.) 

" 29 Milton's Comus. 

" 80 Tennyson's Enoch Arden, The Lotus Eaters, Ulysses, and 
Tithonus. 

" 81 Irvlng's Sketch Book. (Selections.) 

" 82 Dickens* Christmas Carol. (Condensed.) 

" 88 Carlyle's Hero as a Prophet. 

" 84 Macaulay's Warren Hastings. (Condensed.) 

" 85 Goldsmith's Viear of Wakefield. (Condensed.) 

" 86 Tennyson's The Two Voices, and A Dream of Fair Women. 

" 8? Memory Quotations. 

" 88 Cavalier Poets. 

" 89 Dryden's Alexander's Feast, and MacFlecknoe. 

" 40 Keats' The Eve of St. Agnes. 

" 41 Irving's Legend of Sleepy Hollow. 

" 42 Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare. 

" 48 Le Row's How to Teach Reading. 

« 44 Webster's Bunker Hill Orations. 

*' 45 The Academy Orthoepist. A Manual of Pronunciation. 

** 46 Milton's Lycidas, and Hymn on the Nativity. 

" 4? Bryant's Thanatopsis, and Other Poems. 

" 48 Ruskin's Modern Painters. (Selections.) 

" 49 The Shakespeare Speaker. 

" 50 Thackeray's Roundabout Papers. 

** 51 Webster's Oration on Adams and Jefferson. 

«« 52 Brown's Rab and His Friends. 

" 58 Morris's Life and Death of Jason. 

" 54 Burke's Speech on American Taxation. 

** 55 Pope's Rape of the Lock. 

" 56 Tennyson's Elaine. 

" 5? Tennyson's In Memorlam. 

" 58 Church's Story of the JEneid. 

«• 59 Church's Story of the Iliad. 

" 60 Swift's Gulliver's Voyage to LilHput. 

** 61 Macaulay's Essay on Lord Bacon. (Condensed.) 

" 62 The Alcestis of Euripides. English Version by Rev. R. Potter, M. A.. 

" 68 The Antigone of Sophocles. English Version by Thomas Franck- 
lin, D.D. 

" 64 Elizabeth Barrett Browning. (Selected Poems.); 

" 65 Robert Browning. (Selected Poems.) 

" 66 Addison's The Spectator. (Selections.) 

" 6? Scenes from George Eliot's Adam Bede. 

*' 68 Matthew Arnold's Culture and Anarchy. 

Continued on last page. 



SHAKESPEARE'S 

CORIO'LANUS 



NOTES, EXAMINATION PAPERS, AND PLAN 
OF PREPARATION. 

(selected.) 




By BRAINERD KELLOGG, A.M., 

Professor of the English Language and Literature in the B 

Polytechnic Institute, and author of a "Text-Book on Rhetoric, 

a " Text- Book on English Literature," and one of the 

authors of Reed & Kellogg's " Graded Lessons 

in English " and "Higher Lessons 

in English,'" etc , etc. 



rooklyn "* 



W 



NEW YORK: 

Effingham Maynard & Co., Publishers, 

771 Broadway and 67 & 69 Ninth St. 



77? * *o s 



Shakespeare's Plays, 

WITH NOTES. 

Uniform in style ana price with this volu> 



MERCHANT OF VENICE. 

jULIUS C^SAR. 

MACBETH. 

TEMPEST. 

TWELFTH NIGHT. 

HAMLET. 

KING HENRY V. 

KING LEAR. 

KING HENRY IV., Part I. 



KING HENRY VIII. 
AS YOU LIKE IT. 
KING RICHARD III. 
MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S 

DREAM. 
A WINTER'S TALE. 
OTHELLO. 
CORIOLANUS. 



Copyright, 1892, 

BY 

EFFINGHAM MAYNARD & CO. 



EDITOR'S NOTE. 



The text here presented, adapted for use in mixed 
classes, has been carefully collated with that of six or 
seven of the latest and best editions. Where there was 
any disagreement those readings have been adopted which 
seemed most reasonable and were supported by the best 
authority. 

Professor Meiklejohn's exhaustive notes form the sub- 
stance of those here used ; and his plan, as set forth in 
the "General Notice" annexed, has been carried out in 
these volumes. But as these plays are intended rather for 
pupils in school and college than for ripe Shakespearian 
scholars, we have not hesitated to prune his notes of what- 
ever was thought to be too learned for our purpose, or 
on other grounds was deemed irrelevant to it. The notes 
of other English editors have been freely incorporated, and 
we have not hesitated to make many suggestions ourselves. 

B. K. 



GENERAL NOTICE. 



"An attempt has been made in these new editions to 
interpret Shakespeare by the aid of Shakespeare himself. 
The Method of Comparison has been constantly employed ; 
and the language used by him in one place has been com- 
pared with the language used in other places in similar 
circumstances, as well as with older English and with 
newer English. The text has been as carefully and as 
thoroughly annotated as the text of any Greek or Latin 
classic. 

"The first purpose in this elaborate annotation is, of 
course, the full working out of Shakespeare's meaning. 
The Editor has in all circumstances taken as much pains 
with this as if he had been making out the difficult and 
obscure terms of a will .in which he himself was personally 
interested ; and he submits that this thorough excavation 
of the meaning of a really profound thinker is one of the 
very best kinds of training that a boy or girl can receive at 
school. This is to read the very mind of Shakespeare, and 
to weave his thoughts into the fibre of one's own mental 
constitution. And always new rewards come to the careful 
reader — in the shape of new meanings, recognition of 
5 



thoughts he had before missed, of relations between the 
characters that had hitherto escaped him. For reading- 
Shakespeare is just like examining Nature ; there are no 
hollownesses, there is no scamped work, for Shakespeare 
is as patiently exact and as first-hand as Nature herself. 

" Besides this thorough working-out of Shakespeare's 
meaning, advantage has been taken of the opportunity to 
teach his English — to make each play an introduction to 
the English of Shakespeare. For this purpose copious 
collections of similar phrases have been gathered from 
other plays ; his idioms have been dwelt upon ; his pe- 
culiar use of words ; his style and his rhythm. Some 
teachers may consider that too many instances are given ; 
but, in teaching, as in everything else, the old French say- 
ing is true : Assez rty a, s'il trop n'y a. The teacher 
need not require each pupil to give him all the instances 
collected. If each gives one or two, it will probably be 
enough ; and, among them all, it is certain that one or two 
will stick in the memory. It is probable that, for those 
pupils who do not study either Greek or Latin, this close 
examination of every word and phrase in the text of Shake- 
speare will be the best substitute that can be found for the 
study of the ancient classics. 

"It were much to be hoped that Shakespeare should 
become more and more of a study, and that every boy 
and girl should have a thorough knowledge of at least one 
play of Shakespeare before leaving school. It would be 
one of the best lessons in human life, without the chance 
of a polluting or degrading experience. It would also 
have the effect of bringing back into the too pale and for- 



mal English of modern times a large number of pithy and 
vigorous phrases which would help to develop as well as 
to reflect vigor in the characters of the readers, Shake- 
speare used the English language with more power than, 
any other writer that ever lived — he made it do more and 
say more than it had ever done ; he made it speak in a 
more original way ; and his combinations of words are 
perpetual provocations and invitations to originality and 
to newness of insight." — J. M. D. Meiklejohn, M.A., 
Professor of the Theory, History, and Practice of Educa- 
tion in the University of >^t. Andrews* * 



Shakespeare's Grammar. 

Shakespeare lived at a time when the grammar and vocabulary 
of the English language were in a state of transition. Various 
points were not yet settled; and so Shakespeare's grammar is 
not only somewhat different from our own but is by no means 
uniform in itself. In the Elizabethan age, " Almost any part of 
speech can be used as any other part of speech. An adverb can 
be used as a verb, 'They askance their eyes;' as a noun, ' the 
backivard and abysm of time:' or as an adjective, 'a seldom 
pleasure. 7 Any noun, adjective, or intransitive verb can be 
used as a transitive verb. You can ' happy ' your friend, ' ma- 
lice ' or 'foot 1 your enemy, or 'fall' an axe on his neck. An 
adjective can be used as an adverb; and you can speak and act 
' easy, "free,' 'excellent; 'or as a noun, and you can talk of 'fair' 
instead of ' beauty,' and ' a pale ' instead of ' a paleness.' Even 
the pronouns are »not exempt from these metamorphoses. A 
' he * is used for a man. and a lady is described by a gentleman 
as " the fairest she he has yet beheld. ' In the second place, every 
variety of apparent grammatical inaccuracy meets us. He for 
him, him for he; spoke and took for spoke)t- and taken: plural 
nominatives with singular verbs; relatives omitted where they 
are now considered necessary ; unnecessary antecedents inserted; 
shall for ivill. shoidd for woidd, would for icish; to omitted after 
'I outfit,' inserted after '/ durst;' double negatives; double 
comparatives ('more better,' &c.) and superlatives; such fol- 
lowed by which, that by as, as used for as if; that for so 
that; and lastly some verbs apparently with two nominatives, 
and others without any nominative at all." — Dr. Abbott's 
Shakejperian Grammar. 

Shakespeare's Versification. 

Shakespeare's Plays are written mainly in what is known 
as blank verse; but they contain a number of riming, and a 
considerable number of prose, lines. As a rule, rime is much 
commoner in the earlier than in tne later plays. Thus, Love's 
Labor's Lost contains nearly 1.100 riming lines, while (if we 
except the songs) Winter's Tale has none. The Merchant of 
Venice has 124. 

In speaking, we lay a stress on particular syllables: this stress 
is called accent. When the words of a composition are so ar- 
ranged that the accent recurs at regular intervals, the composi- 
tion is said to be rhythmical. In blank verse the lines consist 
usually of ten syllables, of which the second, fourth, sixth, 



eighth, and tenth are accented. The line consists, there- 
fore, of five parts, each of which contains an unaccented 
followed by an accented syllable, as in the word attend. Each 
of these five parts forms what is called a foot or measure; 
and the five together form a pentameter. "Pentameter" is a 
Greek word signifying " five measures." This is the usual form 
of a line of blank verse. But a long poem composed entirely 
of such lines would be monotonous, and for the sake of variety 
several important modifications have been introduced. 

(a) After the tenth syllable, one or two unaccented syllables 
are sometimes added; as — 

" Me-thought \ you said \ you nei \ ther lend | nor bor \ row." 

(6) In any foot the accent maybe shifted from the second to 
the first syllable, provided two accented syllables do not come 
together. 

" Pluck' the. | young suck' | ing cubs' | from the' \ she bear'.'''' | 

(c) In such words as " 3 T esterday," "voluntary," "honesty," 
the syllables -day. -ta-, and -ty falling in the place of the accent, 
are, for the purposes of the verse, regarded as truly accented. 

" Bars' me \ the right' \ of vol'- \ un-ta' \ ry choos' | trig." 

(d) Sometimes we have a succession of accented syllables; this 
oceurs with monosyllabic feet only. 

" Why, note, blow wind, sivell billow, and stvim bark." 

(e) Sometimes, but more rarely, two or even three unaccented 
syllables occupy the place of one; as— 

"He says | he does, | be-ing then | most flat | ter-ed." 

(/) Lines may have any number of feet from one to six. 

Finally, Shakespeare adds much to the pleasing variety of his 
blank verse by placing the pauses in different parts of the line 
(especially after the second or third foot), instead of placing 
them all at the ends of lines, as was the earlier custom. 

N. B. — In some cases the rhythm requires that what we usually 
pronounce as one syllable shall be divided into two, asfi-er (fire), 
su-er (sure), mi-el (mile). &c; too-elve (twelve), jaw-ee (joy), &c. 
Similarly, she-on (-tion or -sion). 

It is very important to give the pupil plenty of ear-training by 
means of formal scansion. This will greatly assist him in his 
reading. 



PLAN OF STUDY 

FOR 

'PERFECT POSSESSION/ 



To attain to the standard of 'Perfect 
Possession/ the reader ought to have an 
intimate and ready knowledge of the sub- 
ject. (See opposite page.) 

The student ought, first of all, to read 
the play as a pleasure; then to read it over 
again, with his mind upon the characters 
and the plot; and lastly, to read it for the 
meanings, grammar, &c. 

With the help of the scheme, he can 
easily draw up for himself short examina- 
tion papers (i) on each scene, (2) on each 
act, (3) on the whole play. 
8 



1. The Plot and Story of the Play. 

(a) The general plot ; 

(b) The special incidents. 

2. The Characters: Ability to give a connected account of 

all that is done and most of what is said by each 
character in the play. 

3. The Influence and Interplay of the Characters upon 

each other. 

(a) Relation of A to B and of B to A ; 

(b) Relation of A to C and D. 

4. Complete Possession of the Language. 

(a) Meanings of words ; 

(b) Use of old words, or of words in an old mean- 

ing; 

(c) Grammar ; 

(d) Ability to quote lines to illustrate a gram- 

matical point. 

5. Power to Eeproduce or Quote. 

(a) What was said by A or B on a particular 

occasion ; 

(b) What was said by A in reply to B ; 

(c) What argument was used by C at a particular 

juncture ; 

(d) To quote a line in instance of an idiom or of 

a peculiar meaning. 

6. Power to Locate. 

(a) To attribute a line or statement to a certain 

person on a certain occasion ; 

(b) To cap a line ; 

{c) To fill in the right word or epithet. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Beyond the fact that Coriolanus was first pub- 
lished in the folio of 1623, we have no certainty to go 
upon ; but evidence derived from style and meter, 
and perhaps from certain allusions, points to a period 
between 1608 and 1610 as the probable date of its 
composition. 

Roman history as told in Plutarch's Biographies is 
followed closely by Shakespeare, though in some 
places he transposes the order of events. And not 
only has he followed this narrative with great fidelity, 
but in many passages we have almost the very lan- 
guage of North's translation. This is conspicuously 
the case in that portion of the narrative correspond- 
ing with Act v. 3. 94-148, where Volumnia is plead- 
ing with her son to spare Rome. 

Outline of the' Play.— In the opening scene, the Roman 
populace, whom a dearth of corn is threatening with 
starvation, are in open mutiny against the governing 
powers, the special object of their hatred being Caius 
Marcius, a haughty patrician, who has counseled the 
Senate against listening to their prayers for relief. On 
him they now prepare to take vengeance ; and, assem- 
bling in great crowds, are about to force their way to 

xi 



xii IN TR OB UC TION. 

the Capitol when Menenius Agrippa, formerly consul, 
-comes upon the scene and endeavors to reason with 
them. His efforts have little success, and he is about 
to abandon the attempt, when he is joined by Mar- 
cius, who, with bitter invectives against the mob, 
informs him that the Senate has sanctioned the elec- 
tion of five tribunes to represent the popular interests. 
At this moment come tidings that the Volscians, neigh- 
bors and ancient enemies of the Romans, are in arms 
for an invasion. To meet them, Cominius and Titus 
Lartius are chosen generals, Marcius being given a 
command under the former ; and the army marches 
for Corioli. Hearing that the Volscians are flocking 
from all parts to defend this, their chief city, Comin- 
ius divides his forces, leaving it to Lartius and Mar- 
cius to carry on the siege, while he himself goes to 
meet the approaching succors. The first attempt 
made upon Corioli is a failure, the Romans being 
beaten back to their trenches. On the second attack 
Marcius, heading his troops, drives the Volscians 
home to their walls, and forces his way within the 
gates. His troops, however, refuse to follow, and 
after fighting single-handed for some time against 
overwhelming numbers, Marcius is obliged to make 
his way out again. A third time the assault is de- 
livered, and now the city is taken and held by the 
Romans. But Marcius has not yet had enough of 
fighting. With a portion of the troops under him, 
lie sets out to the assistance of Cominius, who is be- 
ing hard pressed, and encountering Aufidius, the 
Volscian general, puts him to flight with those who 
come to his aid. Shortly afterwards Marcius and 



INTRODUCTION. xiii 

Cominius are rejoined by Lartius, who has left a 
force to hold Corioli, and Marcius for his exploits is 
rewarded by Cominius with the title of Coriolanus. 
The second Act brings us back to Rome, where 
Menenius, Marcius's oldest and most devoted friend, 
is in converse with the two tribunes of the people, 
Brutus and Sicinius. As Menenius, after expressing 
his opinion of their character and conduct in out- 
spoken terms of condemnation, is about to leave 
them, Marcius's mother and wife, with their friend 
Valeria, come upon the scene with the news of the 
expected return of the victorious army, and this is 
shortly followed by the entry of the generals with 
Marcius wearing the chaplet of oak leaves, the Vic- 
toria Cross of a Roman hero. On their departure 
to the Capitol, where Marcius's triumph is to be rati- 
fied, the envious tribunes discuss his chances of elec- 
tion to the consulship, the highest civic dignity in 
Rome, and plot to stir up the citizens against him. 
At the Capitol, Cominius delivers a harangue in 
eulogy of Marcius, and the Senators determine to 
recommend him to the people for the consulship. To 
obtain this it is a recognized custom that the can- 
didate should stand for an appointed period in the 
forum, or market-place, to solicit the votes of the 
people. This goes greatly against the grain with 
Marcius, and it is with a very ill grace that he sub- 
mits himself to it. The people, however, enthu- 
siastic at his exploits, promise him their votes ; and 
the tribunes, disgusted at the facility with which they 
have been won over, at once begin to tamper with 
them with a view to their refusing confirmation of 



xi v IN TROD UCTION. 

the election when the proper time should come for 
that confirmation to be sought. Moreover, knowing 
that, so long as Marcius can restrain himself from any 
outbreak of his haughty scorn, the people, awed by 
his grandeur of character, will probably shrink from 
crossing him, they contrive, when he is on the way to 
seek the required confirmation, so to sting his pride 
that he bursts out into a torrent of invective against 
the tribunes themselves and those whom they repre- 
sent. Then, under the pretense that he has spoken 
treason of the people, they order the asdiles to arrest 
him ; and, on the entry of the rabble, decree his death. 
As the aediles advance to seize him, Marcius draws his 
sword, and with the help of his friends quickly puts 
to flight the tribunes and their following. On his 
leaving the scene, the mob reassemble, and stirred by 
the tribunes into further frenzy, determine to have 
their revenge. Meanwhile Marcius, yielding to the 
persuasions of his mother and his patrician friends, 
promises to conciliate the people so far as lies in his 
power ; and going again to the forum, which they 
have thronged in greater numbers than ever, begins 
his address temperately enough. This of course is 
by no means what the tribunes desire. They there- 
fore set themselves to provoke him, and at the word 
" traitor" cast in his teeth by Sicinius, all prudential 
resolutions are thrown to the winds, and Marcius 
turns upon his persecutors with tenfold fury. Rely- 
ing on the force at their back, the tribunes now pro- 
nounce sentence of banishment. The cry is taken up 
by the mob, and Marcius, deserted by the nobles, has 
to yield to his fate. On his departure, peace for a 



INTRODUCTION. xv 

time prevails, the tribunes congratulate themselves 
upon their strategy, and boast that there is no fear of 
Marcius's being brought back by any efforts of his 
friends. Their rejoicing is not to be of long duration. 
Marcius has gone to Corioli, where he offers his 
former foe, Aufidius, to join him in an invasion of 
the Roman territory. This offer is at once accepted, 
and a force quickly raised, with Marcius and Aufidius 
in joint command. When the news reaches Rome, 
the tribunes, who are still pluming themselves so com- 
placently, are seized with a panic, in which the patri- 
cians partly share. To raise any sufficient army on 
so short a notice is impossible, and nothing seems left 
but to supplicate Marcius's mercy. Cominius, his old 
commander, bound to him by ties of friendship no 
less than of perils shared together, is sent in embas- 
sage to plead for Rome. His reception is stony- 
hearted disdain ; and his return sends the chill of de- 
spair to the hearts of those who had hoped so much 
from such an envoy. Even Menenius, who speaks of 
himself as Marcius's father, and whose devotion was 
almost idolatry, now shrinks from the task of media- 
tion. Yet to the general entreaty he at length yields 
in the hope that he may find Marcius in a more placa- 
ble mood. The result is none other than had at- 
tended Cominius's efforts, though love for the old 
man makes Marcius's refusal somewhat less ungra- 
cious. To further embassies, however, he declares 
that he will hereafter lend no ear. But the words 
are scarcely uttered when an embassy undreamt of 
comes to test his firmness. Attired in mourning 
garments, the mother whose proud joy he has ever 



xvi INTROD UCT10N. 

been, his wife loved with such tender devotion, his 
young son, his wife's friend Valeria, widow of Pub- 
licola, one of Rome's noblest heroes, — make a last 
intercession for their country. Against their despera- 
tion of entreaty Marcius struggles to steel himself in 
panoply of threefold sternness ; to thrust from him 
kinship, patriotism, love ; to nurse his desire for re- 
venge ; to hold fast to the oath by which he has 
bound himself to his present masters, the Volscians. 
The struggle is vain. Volumnia's appeal sweeps 
everything before it, and Rome is saved. That his 
yielding will be fatal to himself he has a quick pre- 
sentiment, — a presentiment to be fulfilled all too soon. 
But, granting such terms as his country may joyfully 
accept and as the Volscians, he hopes, will not con- 
sider unworthy to be offered, Marcius returns to 
Corioli to render account of his actions to those 
whose servant he still is. Whatever hope, however, 
he had of being able to justify himself, he would have 
laid aside all hope of life if he could have guessed the 
implacable hatred with which his late successes had 
filled the heart of his ancient foe, Aufidius. That the 
Volscian had been sincere in the welcome he gave 
Marcius when tendering his services against Rome 
there need be no doubt. But Aufidius had not for a 
moment dreamed that in associating Marcius with 
himself in command he was taking the surest way to 
eclipse his own fame. When that knowledge comes 
to him, all nobility of feeling at once gives way, and 
he determines upon Marcius's assassination. The 
'opportunity quickly offers itself in Marcius's appear- 
ance before the Volscian Senate ; and, while yet Rome 



IN TR OD UC riON. xv ii 

is rejoicing in the deliverance granted to it, the captor 
of Corioli, stabbed to death by hired ruffians, perishes 
within its walls. 

The Scope of the Play and the Character of Coriolanns, 
— It has been supposed by some that in Coriolanns 
the leading thought of the poet is a purely political 
one, and that we have here an exposition of Shake- 
speare's political faith. This appears to be a com- 
plete inversion of his method. It is true, no doubt, 
that in plays which turn upon political issues Shake- 
speare's leanings may in some measure be seen, and 
that in Coriolanns those leanings are not towards 
democracy. But that he here or anywhere preached 
a political doctrine I disbelieve as entirely as I disbe- 
lieve that he ever preached a moral doctrine. A moral, 
is of course to be found in all his plays, as it is to be 
fouud in all stories of human action. But it is there 
because the poet taking certain characters and certain 
incidents, whether from history, fiction, or his own 
imagination, shows us dramatically how those charac- 
ters would act amidst those incidents ; not because he 
has chosen those characters and incidents to illustrate 
a particular theory whether of ethics or of politics. 
In the present instance history is at hand with an 
outline of striking incidents, and characters strong in 
their individuality, — in other words, with a subject 
eminently capable of dramatic handling. Shake- 
speare's tribunes are the tribunes of Plutarch, his hero 
Plutarch's hero, but with their souls laid bare, the 
working of their minds manifested in words as in 
actions. The play has in fact nothing more of set 
political purpose than The Tempest or Cymbeline. 



xviii INTRODUCTION. 

" The subject of Coriolanus," says Dowden, " is the 
ruin of a noble life through the sin of pride " ; or per- 
haps we might say of pride and selfishness. A great 
though far from flawless soul is brought in contact 
with mighty events, and the necessary results of posi- 
tion, nature, and training develop themselves. Born 
of a haughty race, inheriting from his mother an inflex- 
ible spirit, Coriolanus is from his earliest youth sedu- 
lously tutored in the belief that military glory is the 
noblest aim of life, that arrogance to his inferiors is 
a birthright, and almost a virtue. Splendid and early 
successes, fully recognized alike by high and low, 
have hardened the inborn pride and selfishness of 
his nature, while no check to the supremacy of his 
class has come to teach him the necessity of prudence 
and moderation. Thus, when he first appears before 
us, the attitude of his mind is one of fierce astonish- 
ment that such scum as the people should dare to 
complain even when starvation is staring them in the 
face. Rather than give them relief, he would meet 
their demand by wholesale butchery, and see the city 
\ unroofed ere any privilege of appeal through repre- 
sentatives of their own should be conceded by the 
patricians. That of creatures like these he should 
nave to ask a favor is to him a deep humiliation ; 
that they should insist on the exercise of any rights 
is\ something monstrous. In war they are scarcely 
be\tter than beasts of burden ; in times of peace, mere 
machines for the use and convenience of the nobles. 
So towering is his arrogance that he utterly fails to 
see the dangers he is bringing down upon his own 
caste ; so overweening his selfishness, and so vindic- 



-1 



INTRODUCTION. xix 

tive his hatred, that to avenge his own wrongs he 
will call in to the destruction of his country the very 
foes whose conquest had won him his chief title to 
fame. That the tribunes were but self-seeking dema- 
gogues is true enough. That the people showed 
themselves fickle is of course patent. But the triumph 
of the former was rendered possible by nothing else 
than his ©wn infatuation ; the defection of the latter 
was courted by his cynicism. A very small stretch of 
good-will towards them would have earned for him 
an idolatry as ungrudging as that with which he was 
regarded by the patricians. Yet, with all his faults, 
his virtues were conspicuous. His services to his 
country had been many and great. In him heroism 
and daring were surpassed not even by the demi-gods 
of Greece. To his freedom from the vice which es- 
pecially tainted the whole body of patricians, the vice 
of grasping avarice, even the people he so hated bear 
willing witness. His generosity of nature shows itself 
in his refusal to enrich himself with the spoils of war 
that are sought to be thrust upon him ; his tender- 
ness of heart, in the remembrance of the old man of 
Corioli in whose house he had found shelter, and in 
the consideration which would soften his rejection 
of Menenius's prayer ; his modesty, in the aversion 
which ever shrank from all public eulogy ; his 
warmth of affection, by his devotion to his mother 
and his wife. So endowed, he might not only have 
wielded unique power but wielded it to the highest 
interests of his country, if his nobility had not been 
neutralized by a pride Titanic in its measure, the 
source of his strength converted into the source of his 



xx INTRODUCTION. 

weakness. That in the end he should so far get the 
better of it as to sacrifice himself for his country 
which he had served so well and served so ill shows 
him to us in a fight which somewhat obscures the dark 
spots that must ever rest upon his name and fame. 

Menenius.— If , in the case of Coriolanus, Shakespeare 
had only to infuse with dramatic life and motion the 
statue molded in such full proportions by' Plutarch, 
Menenius is a creation entirely his own. As in so many 
others of his plays when working upon a plot already 
at hand, the poet felt the necessity of relieving the 
tragic intensity by some character capable of humor- 
ous development ; and of such a character he found 
the germ, and only the germ, in Plutarch's words 
that Menenius was one of " the pleasantest old men " 
deputed by the Senate to reason with the plebeians. 
Described by himself, in his first colloquy with the 
tribunes, he is of a quick temper, outspoken when 
provoked, and, like many men of such disposition, 
fond of his joke, and convivial of habit. Such bitter- 
ness as he displays is reserved for the self-seeking, 
unscrupulous demagogues. Towards the people his 
attitude is genial and neighborly, though he does not 
hesitate to chastise their faults, or to point his truths 
with quiet sarcasm. That he is a favorite with them, 
and also has their respect, is evident in the opening 
Scene ; and his language, in such marked contrast 
with the passionate vituperation of Coriolanus, is 
almost sympathetic. He will at all events reason 
with them as human beings whose instincts are not 
wholly beyond the reach of argument, instead of cry- 
ing aloud for their wholesale destruction as noxious 



IN TROD UCTION. xxi 

animals. In the bitter contest into which Coriolanus 
plunges with headstrong violence, Me*enius is all for 
moderation. Proud as he is of his hero's exploits, 
and loving him as he does with almost fatherly affec- 
tion, he is just as anxious to temper the insolence ot 
his pride as to rebuke the malevolent incitements 
which the tribunes use to render all reconciliation 
impossible. ' ' On both sides more respect " in his 
mouth means a reality ; and, even when the turn in 
affairs would admit of his triumphing over those to 
whose machinations the abject condition of Rome is 
due, his taunts, not more bitter than events justify, 
are mingled with reproaches of himself and his fellow- 
patricians for their desertion of Coriolanus in his 
hour of need. It is to him that in their common 
trouble the tribunes turn for intercession with Corio- 
lanus, instinctively feeling that, if the danger is to be 
averted at all, no other mediator will find his way 
to that stubborn heart. Sadly the old man complies, 
endeavoring to buoy himself up with the hope — so 
natural in one of his temperament — that, if Corio- 
lanus can be taken when he has well dined, he may 
prove more pliant than he had shown himself to 
Cominius's entreaties. The failure in his mission is 
pathetic; and, when shortly afterwards the object of his 
fond idolatry perishes a stranger in the land which he 
had conquered, we may be sure that for that loving soul 

" The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees 
Is left this vault to brag of." 

Volumnia.— A Roman matron, of the old aristocracy, 
Volumnia is the very impersonation of patrician and 



xxii IN TR OD UC TION. 

family pride. Before all things, her son must be brought 
up to maintain the traditions of his caste and to see 
in heroic exploits the highest perfection of a noble 
nature. Other mothers might cherish an only child 
with a tender care, watchful against all evils* likely to 
befall. To her conception, the truest love is shown in 
fashioning her son for the stern rigors of warfare, 
and in making her praise the constant spur to sub- 
limer disregard of personal safety. " Fond of no 
second brood," she "clucks him to the war," and 
boasts that had she a dozen sons, each as dear as 
Marcius, she would rather that eleven of them should 
"die nobly for their country than one voluptuously 
surfeit out of action." To the more tender-natured 
wife, the dread that he may return wounded from the 
war is ever present with crushing weight ; to the 
mother, wounds more become a man " than gilt his 
trophy " ; and she would scarcely greet her son with 
a full heart if he brought not back such tokens of his 
worthiness. Though desirous that he should obtain 
the civic honor of the consulship, that desire seems 
to be less on account oi the office itself than of the 
recognition it involves of his glorious deeds ; and, 
when, in the conflict which ensues, she counsels moder- 
ation, it probably is more because she cannot endure 
that any ambition of his should be thwarted than 
because a peaceful dignity has much value in her 
eyes. Her boundless contempt for the people she 
will veil for the occasion rather than that his enemies 
should triumph, and she even stoops to advocate the 
practice of a simulation which for any other purpose 
she would have thought unworthy of herself and him. 



INTRODUCTION. xxiii 

When, foiled by his obstinacy and passion, she has to 
contemplate the wreck of all her ambitious hopes, life 
has no further joy for her, and she retires to eat out 
her heart in fruitless anger. But the time is at hand 
when she must make choice between her country and 
her son ; and, in the conflict between her maternal and 
her patriotic instincts, the latter win the day. Nor, 
though warned by her son that his yielding to her 
prayer will probably be fatal to him, does she hesitate 
to accept the sacrifice ; it is better that he should die, 
though with him died all that made her life, than that 
Rome should be dishonored, and dishonored by him 
who had been its chiefest glory. Junius Brutus 
could condemn his own sons to death for treachery to 
their country, and with no less of Roman fortitude 
Volumnia prefers, if need be, to face a like bereave- 
ment. The people built a temple to Fortune to com- 
memorate her patriotism, but her monument is the 
memory of all time. 

The Tribunes and the People.— In his portraiture of 
the people Shakespeare has been charged with un- 
due severity ; but it can hardly be said that to 
the tribunes he has meted out more than their 
measure. Though, from the necessity* of the case, 
their factious arts are brought out more promi- 
nently than in Plutarch's narrative, the poet has not 
traveled beyorid the record before him ; nor, though 
he had, could it be imputed to him for blame if for 
dramatic purposes he had ascribed to' them qualities 
and devices with which the history of his own country 
had made him familiar. Even against the people the 
worst charges that he brings are those of fickleness 



xxiv INTRODUCTION. 

and passionate enmity towards the patricians, an 
enmity for which they could plead substantial grounds, 
and of which Coriolanus by his uncompromising- hos- 
tility had made himself the special mark. That in 
spite of such hostility they should so plainly have 
recognized his deserts as to choose him consul is 
evidence clear enough. that they were alive to the 
nobility of heroic deeds, even if they had not suffi- 
cient magnanimity, when cajoled by their leaders and 
flouted by him who needed their support, to resist 
the temptation of taking away with one hand what 
they had given with the other. Roman history by no 
means represents the people as at any period very 
august or very wise ; nor were the annals of his own 
country, or the experience of his own times, such as 
to fill the poet with any great reverence for the demo- 
cratic spirit. It is one thing to have little sympathy 
with the rabble, another to allow that insufficiency to 
distort the judgment ; and, if Shakespeare is charge- 
able with being, as Hartley Coleridge said, " a Tory 
and a gentleman," Coriolanus can hardly be cited as 
proof of anything ungenerous in such a combination. 
Contemporary History. — Though Corz'o/anzts does not 
strictly follow the course of Roman history, it will per- 
haps help towards its understanding if a brief sketch be 
given of the state of political parties at the time of its 
action. During the earlier days of the monarchy, which 
lasted till B.C. 510, the plebeians were little better than 
serfs ; and, though Servius Tullus, the sixth king, gave 
a new constitution to the state, under which they ob- 
tained political independence, their condition, so far as 
power was concerned, was but little improved. But 



INTRODUCTION. xxv 

with the abolition of the monarchy, and the substitu- 
tion of two consuls, or chief magistrates, the com- 
munity gained the right of annually designating its 
rulers, and the political prerogatives of the public 
assembly, hitherto monopolized by the patricians, 
were transferred to the assembled levy of those bound 
to military service, among whom of course were in- 
cluded the plebeians. But, even when enrolled as 
burgesses in the register of the curies, or electoral 
bodies, the plebeians were far from being on a footing 
of legal equality with the patricians. These naturally 
enough used every effort to maintain their supremacy, 
but they acted with a short-sighted policy which was 
certain sooner or later to bring the two parties into 
collision, a collision which the superior numbers and 
the increasing wealth of the plebeians could not but 
make dangerous in the extreme. The actual cause, 
however, which led to a rupture, bringing with it 
such wide consequences, was not a political but a 
social one. Burdened by the laws of debt, the farm- 
ers, who were especially affected by them, refused to 
take the field when called upon to serve against the 
Volscians, B.C. 495 ; and, so pressing was the emer- 
gency that the consul, Publius Servilius, was obliged 
to suspend the laws and liberate those confined to 
prison. The war over, and the Romans victorious, 
Servilius's colleague on the return of the troops sent 
back to prison those who had been liberated, and 
enforced the laws of debt with merciless severity. 
The following year, on a renewal of the war, a second 
refusal to serve was the natural consequence. After 
a time, however, trusting to the good-will in their be- 



xxvi INTRODUCTION. 

half of the Dictator, Manius Valerius, the farmers 
gave way, and the levies proceeding- to the war again 
proved victorious over the Volscians. On their return 
to Rome, Valerius, true to the confidence which had 
been placed in him, submitted his proposals in favor 
of the suffering plebeians, but was met by the Senate 
with obstinate opposition. As soon as this refusal 
came to the knowledge of the army, instead of dis- 
banding, it marched under the command of its mili- 
tary tribunes to a hill between the Tiber and the 
Anio, afterwards called Mons Sacer, the sacred 
mount ; and there encamping, threatened to establish 
in this, the most fertile part of the Roman territory, 
a new plebeian city. Their secession brought even 
the most obstinate of the patricians to their senses, 
and by the instrumentality of the Dictator terms were 
arranged which secured redress of the worst griev- 
ances in regard to debt. But the most important 
result was the passing of a taw appointing two ple- 
beian tribunes. The powers of these officers within 
the city were on an equality with the ordinary civil 
powers of office exercised by the consuls. Among 
these powers was the right of canceling any com- 
mand of a magistrate, by which the person affected 
felt himself aggrieved, by means of a protest per- 
sonally tendered ; the right of enabling any one bound 
to military service to withhold himself from the levy ; 
the right of preventing or canceling the arrest of a 
debtor or his imprisonment during investigation ; and 
other powers of a like sort. Further, in virtue of 
their judicial office, they could summon before them 
any citizen, whatever his rank, have him seized if he 



INTRODUCTION. xxvii 

should refuse to come, imprison him during investi- 
gation of the charge against him, and punish him 
with a fine or, in the more heinous cases, with death. 
With this co-ordinate jurisdiction, the tribunes ac- 
quired the further rights of initiating legislation, and 
of taking a vote of the people in confirmation of their 
sentences, or of proposals brought forward by them. 
Such resolves of the people (plebiscita) were not 
strictly valid decrees, though they afterwards came 
to have that force. The tribunes therefore acted as 
a protection for individuals and as managers and 
leaders of the collective body ; and the power wielded 
by them led to a prolonged conflict between the 
patricians and the plebeians, the object of the former 
being to abolish the tribunate, of the latter to restrict 
the consular powers. It was during the early days 
of this conflict, though four years after the secession 
to Mons Sacer and the appointment of the tribunes, 
that Coriolanus, indignant at the refusal of the con- 
sulship, proposed the suspension of the sales of corn 
from the state-stores until the people should be 
starved into abandoning the tribunate, and, being 
impeached by the tribunes, had to flee the city. 

Duration of the Action.— The period embraced by 
Plutarch's narrative is from B.C. 494 to B.C. 490. 



DRAMATIS PERSONS. 



Caius Marcius, afterwards Caius Marcius Cori- 

olanus. 
Titus Lartius, ) , . . ., -r r , . 

Cominius f S' enera ^ s against the Volscians. 

Menenius Agrippa, friend to Coriolanus. 

Sicinius Velutus, I . ., , ,, , 

Junius Brutus, | tnbunes of the P eo P le - 

Young Marcius, son to Coriolanus. 

A Roman Herald. 

Tullus Aufidius, general of the Volscians. 

Lieutenant to Aufidius. 

Conspirators with Aufidius. 

A Citizen of Antium. 

Two Yolscian Guards. 

Volumnia, mother to Coriolanus. 
Virgilia, wife to Coriolanus. 
Valeria, friend to Virgilia. 
Gentlewoman, attending on Virgilia. 

Roman and Volscian Senators, Patricians, iEdiles, 
Lictors, Soldiers, Citizens, Messengers, Servants 
to Aufidius, and other Attendants. 



Scene : Rome and the neighborhood ; Corioli and 
the neighborhood ; A?itiu?n. 



CORIOLANUS. 



ACT I. 

SCENE I. Rome. A Street. 

Enter a company of mutinous Citizens, with 
staves, clubs, and other weapons. 

First Cit. Before we proceed any further, 
hear me speak. 

All. Speak, speak. 

First Cit. You are all resolv'd rather to 
die than to famish? 

All. Resolv'd, resolv'd. 

First Cit. First, you know Caius Marcius 
is chief enemy to the people. 

All. We know 't, we know 't. 

First Cit. Let us kill him, and we '11 have 
corn at our own price. Is 't a verdict? 

All. No more talking on 't ; let it be done : 
away, away ! 

Sec. Cit. One word, good citizens. 

First Cit. We are accounted poor citizens ; 
the patricians, good. What authority sur- 

7 



8 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

feits on would relieve us : if they would 
yield us but the superfluity, while it were 
wholesome, we might guess they reliev'd 
us humanely ; but they think we are too 
dear : the leanness that afflicts us, the object 
of our misery, is as an inventory to partic- 
ularize their abundance; our sufferance is a 
gain to them. Let us revenge this with our 
pikes, ere we become rakes : for the gods 
know I speak this in hunger for bread, not 
20 in thirst for revenge. 

Sec. Cit. Would you proceed especially 
against Caius Marcius? 

First Cit. Against him first: he's a very 
dog to the commonalty. 

Sec Czt. Consider you what services he 
has done for his country? 

First Czt. Very well ; and could be con- 
tent to give him good report for 't, but that 
he pays himself with being proud. 

Sec. Czt. Nay, but speak not maliciously. 

First Cit. I say unto you, what he hath 
done famously, he did it to that end : though 
30soft-conscienc'd men can be content to say 
it was for his country, he did it to please 
his mother, and partly to be proud ; which 
he is, even to the altitude of his virtue. 

Sec. Cit. What he cannot help in his 
nature you account a vice in him. You 
must in no way say he is covetous. 

First Cit. If I must not, I need not be 
barren of accusations ; he hath faults, with 
surplus, to tire in repetition. [Shouts with- 



sc. I.] CORIOLANUS. 9 

z'n.] What shouts are these? The other 
side o' the city is risen : why stay we prat- 
ing here ? to the Capitol ! 

All. Come, come. 40 

First Cit. Soft ! who comes here ? 

Enter Menenius Agrippa. 

Sec. Cit. Worthy Menenius Agrippa; one 
that hath always lov'd the people. 

First Cit. He 's one honest enough : 
would all the rest were so ! 
Men. What work's, my countrymen, in 
hand ? where go you 
With bats and clubs ? The matter ? speak, 
I pray you. 
First Cit. Our business is not unknown 
to the senate; they have had inkling, this 
fortnight, what we intend to do, which now 
we '11 show 'em in deeds. They say poor 50 
suitors have strong breaths : they shall 
know we have strong arms too. 

Men. Why, masters, my good friends, 
mine honest neighbors, 
Will you undo yourselves ? 

First Cit. We cannot, sir, we are undone 

already. 
Men. I tell you, friends, most charitable 
care 
Have the patricians of you. For your 

wants, 
Your suffering in this dearth, you may as 
well 



io CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

Strike at the heaven with your staves as lift 

them 
Against the Roman state, whose course 
60 will on 

The way it takes, cracking ten thousand 

curbs 
Of more strong link asunder than can ever 
Appear in your impediment. For the 

dearth, 
The gods, not the patricians, make it, and 
Your knees to them, not arms, must help. 

Alack, 
You are transported by calamity 
Thither where more attends you, and you 

slander 
The helms o' the state, who care for you 

like fathers, 
When you curse them as enemies. 
70 First Cit. Care for us ! True, indeed, 
they ne'er car'd for us yet : suffer us to 
famish, and their store-houses cramm'd with 
grain ; make edicts for usury, to support 
usurers ; repeal daily any wholesome act 
establish'd against the rich, and provide 
more piercing statutes daily to chain up 
and restrain the poor. If the wars eat us 
not up, they will ; and there's all the love 
they bear us. 

Men. Either you must 
Confess yourselves wondrous malicious 
Or be accus'd of folly. I shall tell you 
So A pretty tale : it may be you have heard it ; 
But,since it serves my purpose, I will venture 



sc. I.] CORIOLANUS. n 

To stale 't a little more. 

First Cit. Well, I'll hear it, sir: yet you 
must not think to fob off our disgrace with 
a tale : but, an 't please you, deliver. 

Men. There was a time when all the 

body's members 
Rebell'd against the belly; thus accus d it : 
That only like a gulf it did remain 
I' the midst o' the body, idle and unactive, 
Still cupboarding the viand, never bearing 90 
Like labor with the rest, where th' other 

instruments 
Did see and hear, devise, instruct, walk, feel, 
And, mutually participate, did minister 
Unto the appetite and affection common 
Of the whole body. The belry answer'd — 

First Cit. Well, sir, what answer made 
the belly ? 

Men. Sir, I shall tell you. With a kind 

of smile, 
Which ne'er came from the lungs, but even 

thus — 
For, look you, I may make the belly smile 
As well as speak — it tauntingly replied 10c 

To th' discontented members, the mutinous 

parts 
That envied his receipt ; even so most fitly 
As you malign our senators for that 
They are not such as you. 

First Cit. Your belly's answer ? 

What ! 
The kingly-crowned head, the vigilant eye, 
The counselor heart, the arm our soldier, 



12 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

Our steed the leg, the tongue our trumpeter, 
With other muniments and petty helps 
In this our fabric, if that they — 
Men. What then? 

no 'Fore me, this fellow speaks! What then? 
what then ? 
First Cit. Should by the cormorant belly 
be restrain'd, 
Who is the sink o' the body, — 

Men. Well, what then ? 

First Cit. The former agents, if they did 
complain, 
What could the belly answer ? 

Men. I will tell you ; 

If you '11 bestow a small — of what you 've 

little- 
Patience awhile, you '11 hear the belly's 
answer. 
First Cit. Ye 're long about it. 
Men. Note me this, 

good friend ; 
Your most grave belly was deliberate, 
Not rash like his accusers, and thus answer'd: 
"True is it, my incorporate friends," quoth 
120 he, 

" That I receive the general food at first, 
Which you do live upon ; and fit it is, 
Because I am the store-house and the shop 
Of the whole body : but, if you do remember, 
I send it through the rivers of your blood, 
Even to the court, the heart, to th' seat o' 

the brain ; 
And, through the cranks and offices of man, 



sc. I.] CORIOLANUS. 13 

The strongest nerves and small inferior 

veins 
From me receive that natural competency 
Whereby they live : and, though that all at 

once, 130 

You, my good friends," — this says the belly, 

mark me, — 
First Cit. Ay, sir ; well, well. 
Men. " Though all at once cannot 

See what I do deliver out to each, 
Yet I can make my audit up, that all 
From me do back receive the flour of all, 
And leave me but the bran." What say you 

to 't? 
First Cit. It was an answer : how apply 

you this ? 
Men. The senators of Rome are this good 

belly, 
And you the mutinous members ; for, ex- 
amine 
Their counsels and their cares, digest things 

rightly 140 

Touching the weal o' the common, you shall 

find 
No public benefit which you receive 
But it proceeds or comes from them to you 
And no way from yourselves. What do 

you think, 
You, the great toe of this assembly? 

First Cit. I the great toe ! why the great 

toe? 
Men. For that, being one o' the lowest, 

basest, poorest 



14 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

Of this most wise rebellion, thou go'st fore- 
most : 
Thou rascal, that art worst in blood to run, 
150 Lead'st first to win some vantage. 

But make you ready your stiff bats and clubs : 
Rome and her rats are at the point of battle ; 
The one side must have bale. 

Enter Caius Marcius. 

Hail, noble Marcius ! 
Mar. Thanks. What's the matter, you 
dissentious rogues 
That, rubbing the poor itch of your opinion, 
Make yourselves scabs? 
First Cit. We have ever your good word. 
Mar. He that will give good words to ye 
will flatter 
Beneath abhorring. What would you have, 

you curs, 
That like nor peace nor war? the one 

affrights you, 
The other makes you proud. He that trusts 
160 to you, 

Where he should find you lions, finds you 

hares ; 
Where foxes, geese : you are no surer, no, 
Than is the coal of fire upon the ice, 
Or hailstone in the sun. Your virtue is 
To make him worthy whose offense subdues 

him, 
And curse that justice did it. Who deserves 
greatness 



sc. i.] CORIOLANUS. 15 

• 
Deserves your hate ; and your affections are 
A sick man's appetite, who desires most that 
Which would increase his evil. He that de- 
pends 
Upon your favors swims with fins of lead, 170 
And hews down oaks with rushes. Hang 

ye ! Trust ye ? 
With every minute you do change a mind, 
And call him noble that was now your hate, 
Him vile that was your garland. What's 

the matter, 
That in these several places of the city 
You cry against the noble senate, who, 
Under the gods, keep you in awe, which else 
Would feed on one another? What's their 
seeking? 
Men. For corn at their own rates ; where- 
of, they say, 
The city is well stor'd. 

Mar. Hang 'em ! " They saj' ! " 180 

They'll sit by the fire, and presume to know 
What 's done i' the Capitol ; who 's like to 

rise, 
Who thrives and who declines ; side fac- 
tions, and give out 
Conjectural marriages ; making parties 

strong 
And feebling such as stand not in their lik- 
ing 
Below their cobbled shoes. They say there 

's grain enough ! 
Would the nobility lay aside their ruth, 
And let me use my sword, I 'd make a quarry 



1 6 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

With thousands of these quartered slaves, 
as high 
190 As I could pick my lance. 

Men. Nay, these are almost thoroughly 
persuaded ; 

For, though abundantly they lack discre- 
tion, 

Yet are they passing cowardly. But, I be- 
seech you, 

What says the other troop ? 
Mar. They are dissolved : hang 'em ! 

They said they were an-hungry ; sigh'd forth 
proverbs, 

That hunger broke stone walls, that dogs 
must eat, 

That meat was made for mouths, that the 
gods sent not 

Corn for the rich men only : with these 
shreds 

They vented their complainings; which 
being answer'd, 
200 And a petition granted them, a strange one — 

To break the heart of generosity, 

And make bold power look pale — they threw 
their caps 

As they would hang them on the horns o' 
the moon, 

Shouting their emulation. 

Men. What is granted them ? 

Mar. Five tribunes to defend their vulgar 
wisdoms, 

Of their own choice: one is Junius Brutus. 

Sicinius Velutus, and I know not — 'Sdeath ! 



sc. I.] CORIOLANUS. 17 

The rabble should have first unroof'd the 

city 
Ere so prevail'd with me : it will in time 
Win upon power, and throw forth greater 

themes 210 

For insurrection's arguing. 
Men. This is strange. 

Mar. Go, get you home, you fragments ! 

Enter a Messenger, hastily. 

Mess. Where's Caius Marcius ? 

Mar. Here : what's the matter ? 

Mess. The news is, sir, the Volsces are in 

arms. 
Mar. I 'm glad on 't : then we shall ha' 

means to vent 
Our musty superfluity. See, our best elders. 

Enter COMINIUS, TlTUS Lartius, and other 
Senators ; Junius Brutus and Sicinius 
Velutus. 

First Sen. Marcius, 't is true that you 
have lately told us ; 
The Volsces are in arms. 

Mar. They have a leader, 

Tullus Aufidius, that will put you to 't. 
I sin in envying his nobility ; 220 

And, were I any thing but what I am, 
I 'd wish me only he. 

Com. You 've fought together. 

Mar. Were half to half the world by th' 
ears and he 
Upon my party, I 'd revolt, to make 



1 8 CORIOLANUS. [act l 

Only my wars with him : he is a lion 
That I am proud to hunt. 

First Sen. Then, worthy Marcius, 

Attend upon Cominius to these wars. 
Com. It is your former promise. 
Mar. Sir, it is ; 

And I am constant. Titus Lartius, thou 
Shalt see me once more strike at Tullus' 
230 face. 

What, art thou stiff? stand'st out? 

Tit. No, Caius Marcius ; 

I '11 lean upon one crutch and fight with t' 

other, 
Ere stay behind this business. 
Men. O, true-bred ! 

First Sen. Your company to the Capitol ; 
where, I know, 
Our greatest friends attend us. 

Tit. [To Coin.'] Lead you on. 

[To Mar.] Follow Cominius ; we must follow 

you ; 
Right worthy you priority. 

Com. Noble Marcius ! 

First Sen. [To the Citizens.] Hence to 

your homes ; be gone ! 
Mar. Nay, let them follow : 

The Volsces have much corn ; take these 

rats thither 
To gnaw their garners. Worshipful muti- 
240 ners, 

Your valor puts well forth : pray, follow. 

[Citizens steal away. Exeunt all but 
Sieinius and Brutus. 



sc. i.] CORIOLANUS. 19 

Sic. Was ever a man so proud as is this 

Marcius? 
Bru. He has no equal. 
Sic. When we were chosen tribunes for 

the people,— 
Bru. Mark'd you his lip and eyes ? 
Sic. Nay, but his taunts. 

Bru. Being moved, he will not spare to 

gird the gods. 
Sic. Be-mock the modest moon. 
Bru. The present wars devour him ! he 
is grown 
Too proud to be so valiant. 

Sic. Such a nature, 

Tickled with good success, disdains the 

shadow 250 

Which he treads on at noon : but I do won- 
der 
His insolence can brook to be commanded 
Under Cominius. 

Bru. Fame, at the which he aims, 

In whom already he 's well grac'd, can not 
Better be held nor more attain'd than by 
A place below the first : forwmat miscarries 
Shall be the general's fault, though he per- 
form 
To th' utmost of a man, and giddy censure 
Will then cry out of Marcius, " Oh, if he 
Had borne the business ! " 

Sic. Besides, if things go well, 260 

Opinion, that so sticks on Marcius, shall 
Of his demerits rob Cominius. 

Bru. Come : 



20 C0RI0LANUS. [act i. 

Half all Cominius' honors are to Marcius, 
Though Marcius earn'd them not, and all 

his faults 
To Marcius shall be honors, though indeed 
In aught he merit not. 

Sic. Let 's hence, and hear 

How the dispatch is made, and in what 

fashion, 
More than his singularity, he goes 
Upon this present action. 

Bru. Let's along. 

[Exeunt. 

SCENE II. Corioli. The Senate-house. 

Enter Tullus Aufidius a7id certain Sen- 
ators. 

First Sen. So, your opinion is, Aufidius, 

That they of Rome are enter'd in our coun- 
sels, 

And know how we proceed. 

Auf. Is it not yours ? 

What ever hath been thought on in this state 

That could be brought to bodily act ere 
Rome 

Had circumvention ? 'T is not four days 
gone 

Since I heard thence; these are the words : 
I think 

I have the letter here ; yes, here it is. 

[Reads'] " They 've press'd a power, but it is 
not known 



sc. il] CORIOLANUS. 21 

Whether for east or west : the dearth is 

great; 10 

The people mutinous ; and it is rumor'd, 
Cominius, Marcius your old enemy, 
Who is of Rome worse hated than of you, 
And Titus Lartius, a most valiant Roman, — 
These three lead on this preparation 
Whither 't is bent : most likely 't is for you : 
Consider of it." 

First Sen. Our army's in the field : 
We never yet made doubt but Rome was 

ready 
To answer us. 

Atif. Nor did you think it folly 

To keep your great pretenses veil'd till 

when 20 

They needs must show themselves ; which 

in the hatching, 
It seem'd, appear'd to Rome. By the dis- 
covery 
We shall be shortened in our aim, which 

was 
To take in many towns ere almost Rome 
Should know we were afoot. 

Sec. Sen. Noble Aufidius, 

Take your commission ; hie you to your 

bands : 
Let us alone to guard Corioli : 
If they set down before 's, for the remove 
Bring up your army; but, I think, you'll 

find 
They 've not prepar'd for us. 
Auf. Oh, doubt not that ; 30 



22 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

I speak from certainties. Nay, more ; 
Some parcels of their power are forth al- 
ready, 
And only hitherward. I leave your honors. 
If we and Caius Marcius chance to meet, 
'T is sworn between us we shall ever strike 
Till one can do no more. 

All. The gods assist you ! 

Auf. And keep your honors safe ! 

First Sen. Farewell ! 

Sec. Sen. Farewell ! 

All. Farewell ! [Exeunt. 

Scene III. Rome. A room in Marcius 's 
house. 

Enter Volumnia and Virgilia: they set 
them down on two low stools, and sew. 

Vol. I pray you, daughter, sing; or ex- 
press yourself in a more comfortable sort : 
if my son were my husband, I should freelier 
rejoice in that absence wherein he won 
honor than in the embracements where he 
would show most love. When yet he was 
but tender-bodied and the only son of my 
womb, when youth with comeliness pluck'd 
all gaze his way, when for an hour of kings' 
entreaties a mother should not sell him a 
day from her beholding, I — considering 
how honor would become such a person ; 
that it was no better than picture-like to 
10 hang by the wall, if renown made it not 



sc. in.] CORIOLANUS. 23 

stir — was pleas'd to let him seek danger 
where he was like to find fame. To a cruel 
war I sent him; from whence he return'd, 
his brows bound with oak. I tell thee, 
daughter, I sprang not more in joy at first 
hearing he was a man child than now in 
first seeing he had prov'd himself a man. 

Vir. But had he died in the business, 
madam ; how then ? 

Vol. Then his good report should have 
been my son ; I therein would have found 
issue. Hear me profess sincerely : had I a 
dozen sons, each in my love alike and none 
less dear than thine and my good Marcius, 20 
I had rather had eleven die nobly for their 
country than one voluptuously surfeit out 
of action. 

Enter a Gentlewoman. 

Gent. Madam, the Lady Valeria is come 

to visit you. 
Vir. Beseech you, give me leave to re- 
tire myself. 
Vol. Indeed, you shall not. 
Methinks I hear hither your husband's 

drum, 
See him pluck Aufidius down by the hair, 
As children from a bear the Volsces shun- 
ning him : 
Methinks I see him stamp thus, and call 

thus: 
" Come on, you cowards ! you were got in 

fear, 30 



24 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

Though you were born in Rome : " his 

bloody brow 
With his mail'd hand then wiping, forth he 

goes, 
Like to a harvest-man that 's task'd to mow 
Or all or lose his hire. 

Vz'r. His bloody brow! O Jupiter, no 

blood ! 
Vol. Away, you fool ! it more becomes a 
man 
Than gilt his trophy : the breasts of Hecuba, 
When she did suckle Hector, look'd not 

lovelier 
Than Hector's forehead when it spit forth 

blood 
At Grecian sword, contemning. Tell Va- 
40 leria 

We 're fit to bid her welcome. {Exit Ge?it. 
Vir. Heaven bless my lord from fell 

Aufidius ! 
Vol. He'll beat Aufidius' head below his 
knee 
And tread upon his neck. 

Enter Valeria, with an Usher and Gentle- 
woman. 

Val. My ladies both, good day to you. 

Vol. Sweet madam. 

Vz'r. I am glad to see your ladyship. 

Val. How do you both? you 're manifest 
housekeepers. 

What are you sewing here? A fine spot, in 
good faith. 



sc. in.] CORIOLANUS. 25 

How does your little son ? 50 

Vir. I thank your ladyship; well, good 
madam. 

Vol. He had rather see the swords and 
hear a drum than look upon his school- 
master. 

Val. O' my word, the father's son : I '11 
swear 't is a very pretty boy. O' my troth, 
I looked upon him o' Wednesday half an 
hour together : has such a confirm'd coun- 
tenance. I saw him run after a gilded but- 
terfly; and, when he caught it, he let it go 
again ; and after it again ; and over and 
over he comes, and up again; catch 'd it 
again ; or whether his fall enrag'd him, or 
how 't was, he did so set his teeth and tear 60 
it; O, I warrant, how he mammock'd it! 

Vol. One on 's father's moods. 

Val. Indeed, la, 't is a noble child. 

Vir. A crack, madam. 

Val. Come, lay aside your stitchery; I 
must have you play the idle huswife with 
me this afternoon. 

Vir. No, good madam ; I will not out of 
doors. 

Val. Not out of doors ! 

Vol. She shall, she shall. 

Vir. Indeed, no, by your patience; I'll 70 
not over the threshold till my lord return 
from the wars. 

Val. Fie, you confine yourself most un- 
reasonably : come, you must go visit the 
good lady that lies in. 



26 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

Vir. I will wish her speedy strength, and 
visit her with my prayers ; but I cannot go 
thither. 

Vol. Why, I pray you ? 

Vir. 'T is not to save labor, nor that I 
want love. 

Val. You would be another Penelope : 
yet, they say, all the yarn she spun in 
Ulysses' absence did but fill Ithaca full of 
Si moths. Come ; I would your cambric were 
sensible as your finger that you might leave 
pricking it for pity. Come, you shall go 
with us. 

Vir. No, good madam, pardon me ; in- 
deed, I will not forth. 

Val. In truth, la, go with me ; and I'll 
tell you excellent news of your husband. 

Vir. Oh, good madam, there can be none 
yet. 

Val. Verily, I do not jest with you ; there 
came news from him last night. 
90 Vir. Indeed, madam ? 

Val. In earnest, it 's true ; I heard a sen- 
ator speak it. Thus it is : the Volsces have 
an army forth ; against whom Cominius the 
general is gone, with one part of our Roman 
power: your lord and Titus Lartius are set 
down before their city Corioli ; they nothing 
doubt prevailing and to make it brief wars. 
This is true, on mine honor; and so, I pray, 
go with us. 

Vir. Give me excuse, good madam; I will 
obey you in every thing hereafter. 



sc. iv.] CORIOLANUS. 27 

Vol. Let her alone, lady: as she is now, 100 
she will but disease our better mirth. 

Val. In troth, I think she would. Fare 
you well, then. Come, good sweet lady. 
Prithee, Virgilia, turn thy solemnness out o' . 
door, and go along with us. 

Vir. No, at a word, madam; indeed, I 
must not. I wish you much mirth. 

Val. Well, then, farewell. [Exeunt. 



Scene IV. Before Corioli. 

Enter, with drum and colors, Marcius, 
Titus Lartius, Captains, and Soldiers. 
To them a Messenger. 

Mar. Yonder comes news. A wager they 
have met. 
Lart. My horse to yours, no. 
Mar. 'T is done. 

Lart. Agreed. 

Mar. Say, has our general met the 

enemy ? 
Mess. They lie in view ; but have not 

spoke as yet. 
Lart. So, the good horse is mine. 
Mar. I '11 buy him of you. 

Lart. No, I '11 nor sell nor give him : 

lend you him I will 
For half a hundred years. Summon the 

town. 
Mar. How far off lie these armies ? 
Mess. Within this mile and half. 



28 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

Mar. Then shall we hear their 'larum, 
and they ours. 
Now, Mars, I prithee, make us quick in 
io work 

That we with smoking swords may march 

from hence 
To help our fielded friends! Come, blow 

thy blast. 
They sound a parley. Enter two Senators 

with others, on the walls. 
Tullus Aufidius, is he within your walls? 
First Sen. No, nor a man that fears you 
less than he, 
That's lesser than a little. [Drums afar of.] 

Hark ! our drums 
Are bringing forth our youth. We '11 break 

our walls 
Rather than they shall pound us up: our 

gates, 
Which yet seem shut, we have but pinn'd 

with rushes ; 
They '11 open of themselves. \Alarum 

afar of.] Hark you, far off ! 
There is Aufidius ; list, what work he 
20 makes 

Amongst your cloven army. 

Mar. Oh, they 're at it ! 

Lart. Their noise be our instruction. 
Ladders, ho ! 

Enter the army of the Volsces. 
Mar. They fear us not, but issue forth their 
city. 



SC. IV.] CORIOLANUS. 29 

Now put your shields before your hearts, 
and fight 

With hearts more proof than shields. Ad- 
vance, brave Titus : 

They do disdain us much beyond our 
thoughts, 

"Which makes me sweat with wrath. Come 
on, my fellows : 

He that retires, I '11 take him for a Volsce, 

And he shall feel mine edge. 

Alarum. The Romans are beat back to their 
trenches. Re-e7iter MARCIUS, cursing. 

Mar. All the contagion of the south light 

on you, 30 

You shames of Rome ! you. herd of — Boils 

and plagues 
Plaster you o'er that you may be abhorr'd 
Further than seen, and one infect another 
Against the wind a mile ! You souls of 

geese, 
That bear the shapes of men, how have you 

run 
From slaves that apes would beat ! Pluto 

and hell! 
All hurt behind ; backs red, and faces pale 
With flight and agued fear ! Mend and 

charge home, 
Or, by the fires of heaven, I '11 leave the foe 
And make my wars on you: look to 't: 

come on ; 40 

If you '11 stand fast, we '11 beat them to their 

wives, 



30 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

As they us to our trenches followed. 

Another alarum. The Volsces_/[j/, and Mar- 
CI US follows them to the gates. 

So, now the gates are ope : now prove good 

seconds : 
'T is for the followers fortune widens them, 
Not for the fliers : mark me, and do the like. 
[Enters the gates. 
First Sol. Fool-hardiness ; not I. 
Sec. Sol. Nor I. [Marcius is shut in. 

First Sol. See, they have shut him in. 
All. To th' pot, I warrant him. 

{Alarum continues. 

Re-enter Titus Lartius. 

Lart. What is become of Marcius? 
All. Slain, sir, doubtless. 

First Sol. Following the fliers at the very 
heels, 
With them he enters ; who, upon the sud- 
50 den, 

Clapp'd-to their gates : he is himself alone, 
To answer all the city. 

Lart. O noble fellow ! 

Who sensibly outdares his senseless sword, 
And, when it bows, stands up. Thou art 

left, Marcius : 
A carbuncle entire, as big as thou art, 
Were not so rich a jewel. Thou wast a 

soldier 
Even to Cato's wish, not fierce and terrible 



sc. v.] CORIOLANUS. 31 

Only in strokes ; but, with thy grim looks 

and 
The thunder-like percussion of thy sounds, 
Thou mad'st thine enemies shake, as if the 

world 60 

Were feverous and did tremble. 

Re-enter Marcius, bleeding, assaulted by the 
enemy. 

First Sol. Look, sir. 

Lart. Oh, 't is Marcius i 

Let's fetch him off, or make remain alike. 

{They fight, and all enter the city. 

Scene V. Corioli. A street. 

Enter certain Romans, with spoils. 

First Rom. This will I carry to Rome. 
Sec. Rom. And I this. 
Third Rom. A murrain on 't ! I took 
this for silver. 

\_Alarum continues still afar off. 

Enter Marcius and Titus Lartius with a 
trumpet. 

Mar. See here these movers that do prize 

their hours 
At a crack'd drachma! Cushions, leaden 

spoons, 
Irons of a doit, doublets that hangmen 

would 
Bury with those that wore them, these base 

slaves, 



32 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

Ere yet the fight be done, pack up : down 

with them ! 
And hark, what noise the general makes! 
To him ! 
10 There is the man of my soul's hate, Aufidius, 
Piercing our Romans : then, valiant Titus, 

take 
Convenient numbers to make good the city ; 
Whilst I, with those that have the spirit, 

will haste 
To help Cominius. 

Lart. Worthy sir, thou bleed'st ; 

Thy exercise hath been too violent 
For a second course of fight. 

Mar. Sir, praise me not; 

My work hath yet notwarm'd me : fare you 

well : 
The blood I drop is rather physical 
Than dangerous to me : to Aufidius thus 
I will appear, and fight. 
20 Lart. Now the fair goddess, Fortune, 
Fall deep in love with thee ; and her great 

charms 
Misguide th' opposers' swords ! Bold gentle- 
man, 
Prosperity be thy page ! 

Mar. Thy friend no less 

Than those she placeth highest ! So, fare- 
well. 
Lart. Thou worthiest Marcius ! 

[Exit Marcius. 
Go, sound thy trumpet in the market-place ; 
Call thither all the officers o' the town, 



sc. vi.] CORIOLANUS. 33 

Where they shall know our mind : away ! 

[Exeunt. 

Scene VI. Near the camp of Cominius. 

Enter Cominius, as it were in retire, with 
soldiers. 

Com. Breathe you, my friends: well 

fought ; we are come off 
Like Romans, neither foolish in our stands 
Nor cowardly in retire : believe me, sirs, 
We shall be charg'd again. Whiles we have 

struck, 
By interims and conveying gusts we 've 

heard 
The charges of our friends. Ye Roman gods, 
Lead their successes as we wish our own 
That both our powers, with smiling fronts 

encountering, 
May give you thankful sacrifice. 

Enter a Messenger. 

Thy news ? 
Mess. The citizens of Corioli have issu'd, 10 
And given to Lartius and to Martius battle : 
I saw our party to their trenches driven, 
And then I came away. 

Com. Though thou speak'st truth, 

Methinks thou speak'st not well. How long 
is 't since ? 
Mess. Above an hour, my lord. 
Com. 'T is not a mile ; briefly we heard 
their drums : 



34 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

How couldst thou in a mile confound an 

hour, 
And bring thy news so late ? 

Mess. Spies of the Volsces 

Held me in chase, that I was forc'd to wheel 
20 Three or four miles about, else had I, sir, 
Half an hour since brought my report. 

Com. Who 's yonder 

That does appear as he were flay'd ? O 

gods ! 
He has the stamp of Marcius ; and I have 
Before-time seen him thus. 
Mar. [ Within] Come I too late ? 

Com. The shepherd knows not thunder 
from a tabor 
More than I know the sound of Marcius' 

tongue 
From every meaner man's. 

Enter MARCIUS. 

Mar. Come I too late ? 

Coin. Ay, if you come not in the blood o» 
others, 
But mantled in your own. 
Mar. Oh, let me clip ye 

30 In arms as sound as when I woo'd, in heart 
As merry as when our nuptial day was done, 
And tapers burn'd to bedward ! 

Com. Flower of warriors, 

How is 't with Titus Lartius ? 

Mar. As with a man busied about decrees: 
Condemning some to death and some to 
exile ; 



sc. vi.] CORIOLANUS. 35 

Ransoming him, or pitying, threatening th' 

other ; 
Holding Corioli in the name of Rome, 
Even like a fawning greyhound in the leash, 
To let him slip at will. 

Com. Where is that slave 

Which told me they had beat you to your 

trenches ? 40 

Where is he? call him hither. 

Mar. Let him alone; 

He did inform the truth : but for our gentle- 
men, 
The common file — a plague ! tribunes for 

them ! — 
The mouse ne'er shunn'd the cat as they 

did budge 
From rascals worse than they. 

Com. But how prevail'd you ? 

Mar. Will the time serve to tell ? I do 
not think. 
Where is the enemv ? are you lords o' the 

field ? 
If not, why cease you till you are so ? 

Com. Marcius, 

We have at disadvantage fought and did 
Retire to win our purpose. 5c 

Mar. How lies their battle ? know you 
on which side 
They 've plac'd their men of trust ? 

Com. As I guess, Marcius, 

Their bands i' the vaward are the Antiates, 
Of their best trust ; o'er them Aufidius, 
Their very heart of hope. 



36 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

Mar. I do beseech you, 

By all the battles wherein we have fought, 
By th' blood we 've shed together, by the 

vows 
We Ve made to endure friends, that you 

directly 
Set me against Aufidius and his Antiates ; 
60 And that you not delay the present, but, 
Filling the air with swords advanc'd and 

darts, 
We prove this very hour. 

Com. Though I could wish 

You were conducted to a gentle bath 
And balms applied to you, yet dare I never 
Deny your asking : take your choice of those 
That best can aid your action. 

Mar. Those are they 

That most are willing. If any such be 

here — 
As it were sin to doubt — that love this 

painting 
Wherein you see me smear'd ; if any fear 
70 Lesser his person than an ill report ; . 

If any think brave death outweighs bad 

life, _ 
And that his country 's dearer than himself; 
Let him, alone, or so many so minded, 
Wave thus t' express his disposition, 
And follow Marcius. 

[They all shout and wave their swords, 
take him up ill their arms, and cast 
up their caps. 



sc. vii.] CORIOLANUS. 37 

Of me alone make you a sword ? of me ? 
If these shows be not outward, which of you 
But is four Volsces ? none of you but is 
Able to bear against the great Aufidius 
A shield as hard as his. A certain number, 80 
Though thanks to all, must I select : the 

rest 
Shall bear the business in some other fight, 
As cause will be obey'd. Please you to 

march : 
And I shall quickly draw out my command, 
Which men are best inclin'd. 

Com. March on, my fellows : 

Make good this ostentation, and you shall 
Divide in all with us. {Exeunt. 



Sc ENE V 1 1 . The gates of Corioli. . 

TlTUS Lartius, having set a guard upon 
Coriolz, going with drum and trumpet to- 
ward Cominius and Caius Marcius, 
enters with a Lieutenant, other Soldiers, 
and a Scout. 

Lart. So, let the ports be guarded : keep 
your duties, 
As I have set them down. If I do send, 

dispatch 
Those centuries to our aid : the rest will 

serve 
For a short holding : if we lose the field, 
We cannot keep the town. 

Lieu. Fear not our care, sir. 



38 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

Lart. Hence, and shut your gates upon 's. 
Our guider, come ; to th' Roman camp con- 
duct us. \Exeunt. 



SCENE VIII. A field of battle. 

Alarum as in battle. E?iter,from oppo- 
site sides, Marcius and Aufidius. 

Mar. I'll fight with none but thee ; for I 
do hate thee 
Worse than a promise-breaker. 

Auf. We hate alike : 

Not Afric owns a serpent I abhor 
More than thy fame I envy. Fix thy foot. 
Mar. Let the first budger die the other's 
slave, 
And the gods doom him after ! 

Auf. If I fly, Marcius, 

Holloa me like a hare. 

Mar. Within these three hours, Tullus, 
Alone I fought on your Corioli walls, 
And made what work I pleas'd : 't is not 

my blood 
Wherein thou se'st me mask'd ; for thy 
10 revenge 

Wrench up thy power to th' highest. 

Auf. Wert thou the Hector 

That was the whip of your bragg'd progeny, 
Thou should'st not 'scape me here. 

[ They fight, and certain Volsces come in the 
aid of Aufidius. Marcius fights till they 
be driveti in breathless. 



sc. ix.-] CORIOLANUS. 39 

Officious, and not valiant, you have sham'd 

me 
In your condemned seconds. {Exeunt. 

SCENE IX. The Roman Camp. 

Flourish. Alarum. A retreat is sounded. 
Flourish . Enter, from one side, Cominius 
with the Romans ; from the other side, 
Marcius, with his arm in a scarf. 

Com. If I should tell thee o'er this thy 

day's work, 
Thou 'dst not believe thy deeds : but I '11 re- 
port it 
Where senators shall mingle tears with 

smiles ; 
Where great patricians shall attend and 

shrug, 
I' the end admire; where ladies shall be 

frighted, 
And, gladly quak'd, hear more; where the 

dull tribunes, 
That, with the fusty plebeians, hate thine 

honors, 
Shall say against their hearts, " We thank 

the gods 
Our Rome hath such a soldier." 
Yet cam'st thou to a morsel of this feast, 10 
Having fully din'd before. 

Enter Titus Lartius, with his power 
from the pursuit. 



40 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

Lart. O general, 

Here is the steed, we the caparison : 
Hadst thou beheld — 

Mar. Pray now, no more: my mother, 
Who has a charter to extol her blood, 
When she does praise me grieves me. I 

have done 
As you have done ; that 's what I can ; in- 

duc'd 
As you have been ; that 's for my coun- 
try : 
He that has but effected his good will 
Hath overta'en mine act. 

Com. You shall not be 

The grave of your deserving ; Rome must 
20 know 

The value of her own. 'T were a conceal- 
ment 
Worse than a theft, no less than a traduce- 

ment, 
To hide your doings ; and to silence that, 
Which, to the spire and top of praises 

vouch'd, 
Would seem but modest : therefore, I be- 
seech you — 
In sign of what you are, not to reward 
What you have done — before our army hear 
me. 
Mar. I have some wounds upon me, and 
they smart 
To hear themselves remember'd. 

Com. Should they not, 

30 Well might they fester 'gainst ingratitude, 



sc. ix ] CORIOLANUS. 41 

And tent themselves with death. Of all 

the horses — 
Whereof we 've ta'en good and good store — 

of all 
The treasure in this field achiev'dand city, 
We render you the tenth, to be ta'en forth, 
Before the common distribution, at 
Your only choice. 

Mar. I thank you, general ; 

But cannot make my heart consent to take 
A bribe to pay my sword : I do refuse it ; 
And stand upon my common part with 

those 
That have beheld the doing. 40 

[A long flourish. They all cry " Marcius ! 
Marcius! " cast up their caps and lances: 
Cominius and Lartius stand bare, ,] 

Mar. May these same instruments, which 
you profane, 

Never sound more ! When drums and trum- 
pets shall 

F the field prove flatterers, let courts and 
cities be 

Made all of false-fac'd soothing ! When 
steel grows 

Soft as the parasite's silk, let him be made 

An armature for the wars ! No more, I say ! 

For that I have not wash'd my nose that 
bled, 

Or foil'd some debile wretch, — which, with- 
out note, 



42 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

Here 's many else have done, — you shout me 
50 forth 

In acclamations hyperbolical ; 

As if I lov'd my little should be dieted 

In praises sauc'd with lies. 

Com. Too modest are you ; 

More cruel to your good report than grate- 
ful 

To us that give you truly : by your patience, 

If 'gainst yourself you be incens'd, we '11 put 
you, 

Like one that means his proper harm, in 
manacles, 

Then reason safely with you. Therefore, 
be it known, 

As to us, to all the world, that Caius Mar- 
cius 

Wears this war's garland : in token of the 
which, 

My noble steed, known to the camp, I give 
60 him, 

With all his trim belonging ; and from this 
time, 

For what he did before Corioli, call him, 

With all th' applause and clamor of the 
host, 

Caius Marcius Coriolanus ! Bear 

Th' addition nobly ever! 

{Flourish. Trumpets sou?id, and drums. 
All. Caius Marcius Coriolanus ! 
Cor. I will go wash ; 

And, when my face is fair, you shall per- 
ceive 



sc. ix.] CORIOLANUS. 43 

Whether I blush or no: howbeit, I thank 

you. 
I mean to stride your steed, and at all times 70 
To undercrest your good addition 
To the fairness of my power. 

Com. So, to our tent ; 

Where, ere we do repose us, we will write 
To Rome of our success. You, Titus Lar- 

tius, 
Must to Corioli back : send us to Rome 
The best, with whom we may articulate, 
For their own good and ours. 

Lart. I shall, my lord. 

Cor, The gods begin to mock me. I, that 
now 
Retus'd most princely gifts, am bound to 

beg 
Of my lord general. 

Com. Take 't ; 't is yours. What is 't ? 80 

Cor. I sometime lay here in Corioli 
At a poor man's house ; he used me kindly : 
He cried to me ; I saw him prisoner; 
But then Aufidius was within my view, 
And wrath o'erwhelm'd my pity : I request 

you 
To give my poor host freedom. 

Com. Oh, well begg'd ! 

Were he the butcher of my son, he should 
Be free as is the wind. Deliver him, Titus. 

Lart. Marcius, his name.- 1 

Cor. By Jupiter ! forgot. 

I 'm weary ; yea, my memory is tir'd. 90 

Have we no wine here? 



44 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

Com. Go we to our tent : 

The blood upon your visage dries ; 't is 

time 
It should be look'd to : come. \Exeunt. 



Scene X. The camp of the Volsces. 

A flourish. Comets. Enter TULLUS Au- 
FIDIUS, bloody, with two or three Soldiers. 

Auf. The town is ta'en ! 

First Sol. 'T will be deliver'd back on 

good condition. 
Auf. Condition ! 
I would I were a Roman ; for I cannot, 
Being a Volsce, be that I am. Condition ! 
What good condition can a treaty find 
I' the part that is at mercy ? Five times, 

Marcius, 
I 've fought with thee : so often hast thou 

beat me, 
And wouldst do so, I think, should we en- 
counter 
10 As often as we eat. By th' elements, 
If e'er again I meet him beard to beard, 
He 's mine, or I am his : mine emulation 
Hath not that honor in 't it had ; for where 
I thought to crush him in an equal force, 
True sword to sword, I '11 potch at him some 

way 
Or wrath or craft may get him. 

First Sol. He 's the devil. 



sc. x.] CORIOLANUS. 45 

Auf. Bolder, though not so subtle. My 

valor, poison'd 
With only suffering stain by him, for him 
Shall fly out of itself : nor sleep nor sanc- 
tuary, 
Being naked, sick, nor fane nor Capitol, 20 
The prayers of priests nor times of sacrifice, 
Embarquements all of fury, shall lift up 
Their rotten privilege and custom 'gainst 
My hate to Marcius : where I find him, were 

it 
At home, upon my brother's guard, even 

there, 
Against the hospitable canon, would I 
Wash my fierce hand in 's heart. Go you 

to th' city ; 
Learn how 't is held ; and what they are 

that must 
Be hostages for Rome. 
First Sol. Will not you go ? 

Auf. I am attended at the cypress grove : 

I pray you — 30 

'T is south the city mills — bring me word 

thither 
How the world goes, that to the pace of it 
I may spur on my journey. 
First SoL I shall, sir. \Exeu71t. 



46 CORIOLANUS. [act ii. 



ACT II. 

Scene I. Rome. A public place. 

Enter Menenius with the two Tribunes of 
the people, Sicinius and Brutus. 

Men. The augurer tells me we shall have 
news to-night. 

Bru. Good ? or bad ? 

Men. Not according to the prayer of the 
people, for they love not Marcius. 

Sic. Nature teaches beasts to know their 
friends. 

Men. Pray you, who does the wolf love ? 

Sic. The lamb. 

Men. Ay, to devour him ; as the hungry 
plebeians would the noble Marcius. 

Bru. He 's a lamb indeed, that baes like 
10 a bear. 

Men. He'sa bear indeed, that lives like 
a lamb. You two are old men : tell me one 
thing that I shall ask you. 

Both. Well, sir. 

Men. In what enormity is Marcius poor 
in that you two have not in abundance ? 

Bru. He 's poor in no one fault, but stored 
with all. 

Sic. Especially in pride. 

Bru. And topping all others in boasLing. 

Men. This is strange now : do you two 



sc. i.] CORIOLANUS. 47 

know how you are censur'd here in the city, 20 
I mean of us o'the right-hand file? do you? 

Both. Why, how are we censur'd ? 

Men. Because you talk of pride now, — 
will you not be angry ? 

Both. Well, well, sir, well. 

Men. Why, 't is no great matter ; for a 
very little thief of occasion will rob you of 
a great deal of patience : give your disposi- 
tions the reins, and be angry at your pleas- 
ures; at the least, if you take it as a pleas- 
ure to you in being so. You blame Marcius 
for being proud ? 30 

Brit. We do it not alone, sir. 

Men. I. know you can do very little alone ; 
for your helps are many or else your actions 
would grow wondrous single: your abili- 
ties are too infant-like for doing much alone. 
You talk of pride : O that you could turn 
your eyes toward the napes of your necks, 
and make but an interior survey of your 
good selves ! O that you could ! 

Bru. What then, sir ? 

Men. Why, then you should discover a 
brace of unmeriting, proud, violent, testy 40 
magistrates, alias fools, as any in Rome. 

Sic. Menenius, you are known well 
enough too. 

Men. I am known to be a humorous pa- 
trician, and one that loves a cup of hot wine 
with not a drop of allaying Tiber in 't ; said 
to be something imperfect in favoring the 
first complaint ; hasty and tinder-like upon 



48 C0R10LANUS. [act ii. 

too trivial motion ; one that converses more 
with the latter end of the night than with 
the forehead of the morning: what I think 
I utter, and spend my malice in my breath. 
Meeting two such wealsmen as you are — 
I cannot call you Lycurguses — if the drink 
you give me touch my palate adversely, I 
make a crooked face at it. I cannot say 
your worships have deliver'd the matter 
well, when I find the ass in compound with 
the major part of your syllables: and, 
though I must be content to bear with those 
that say you are reverend grave men, yet 
they lie deadly that tell you you have good 
faces. If you see this in the map of my 
microcosm, follows it that I am known well 
enough too ? what harm can your bisson 
conspectuities glean out of this character, 
if I be known well enough too? 

Bru. Come, sir, come, we know you well 
60 enough. 

Men. You know neither me, yourselves, 
nor any thing. You are ambitious for poor 
knaves' caps and legs : you wear out a good 
wholesome forenoon in hearing a cause be- 
tween an orangewife and a fosset-seller, 
and then rejourn the controversy of three 
pence to a second day of audience. When 
you are hearing a matter between party and 
party, if you chance to be pinch'd with the 
colic, you make faces like mummers, set up 
the bloody flag against all patience, and dis- 
miss the controversy bleeding, the more 



sc. I.] CORIOLANUS. 49 

entangled by your hearing ; all the peace you 70 
make in their cause is, calling both the par- 
ties knaves. You are a pair of strange ones. 

Bru. Come, come, you are well understood 
to be a perfecter giber for the table than a 
necessary bencher in the Capitol. 

Men. Our very priests must become 
mockers, if they shall encounter such ridic- 
ulous subjects as you are. When you speak 
best unto the purpose, it is not worth the 
wagging of your beards ; and your beards 
deserve not so honorable a grave as to stuff 
a botcher's cushion, or to be entombed in 
an ass's pack-saddle. Yet you must be say- 80 
ing, Marcius is proud; who, in a cheap 
estimation, is worth all your predecessors 
since Deucalion, though peradventuresome 
of the best of 'em were hereditary hangmen. 
God-den to your worships: more of your 
conversation would infect my brain, being 
the herdsmen of the beastly plebeians : I 
will be bold to take my leave of you. 

{Brutus and Sicinius go aside. 

Enter Volumnia, Virgilia, and Valeria. 

How now, my as fair as noble ladies, — and 
the moon, were she earthly, no nobler, — 
whither do you follow your eyes so fast ? 90 

Vol. Honorable Menenius, my boy Marcius 
approaches ; for the love of Juno, let's go. 

Men. Ha ! Marcius coming home ! 

Vol. Ay, worthy Menenius; and with 
most prosperous approbation. 



50 CORIOLANUS. [act II. 

Men. Take my cap, Jupiter, and I thank 
thee. Hoo ! Marcius coming home ! 

Vol. Vir. Nay, 't is true. 

Vol. Look, here 's a letter from him: the 
ioo state hath another, his wife another; and 
I think there 's one at home for you. 

Men. I will make my very house reel 
to-night : a letter for me ! 

Vir. Yes, certain, there 's a letter for you ; 
I saw 't. 

Men. A letter for me ! it gives me an 
estate of seven years' health ; in which time 
I will make a lip at the physician : the most 
sovereign prescription in Galen is but em- 
piricutic, and, to this preservative, of no 
better report than a horse-drench. Is he 
not wounded ? he was wont to come home 
no wounded. 

Vir. Oh, no, no, no. 

Vol. Oh, he is wounded ; I thank the 
gods for 't. 

Men. So do I too, if it be not too much : 
brings a' victory in his pocket ? the wounds 
become him. 

Vol. On 's brows, Menenius : he comes 
the third time home with the oaken gar- 
land. 

Men. Hashedisciplin'd Aufidius soundly? 

Vol. Titus Lartius writes, they fought to- 
gether, but Aufidius got off. 
1 20 Men. And 't was time for him too, I 'II 
warrant him that : an he had stay'd by him, 
I would not have been so fidiused for all 



sc. i.] CORIOLANUS. 51 

the chests in Corioli, and the gold that 's in 
them. Is the senate possess'd of this ? 

Vol. Good ladies, let 's go. Yes, yes, yes ; 
the senate has letters from the general, 
wherein he gives my son the whole name of 
the war : he hath in this action outdone his 
former deeds doubly. 

Val. In troth, there 's wondrous things 
spoke of him. 

Men. Wondrous ! ay, I warrant you, and 
not without his true purchasing. 130 

Vir. The gods grant them true ! 

Vol. True ! pow, wow. 

Men. True ! I'll be sworn they are true. 
Where is he wounded ? \To the Tribunes] 
God save your good worships ! Marcius is 
coming home : he has more cause to be 
proud. Where is he wounded ? 

Vol. V the shoulder and i' the left arm : 
there will be large cicatrices to show the 
people, when he shall stand for his place. 
He received in the repulse of Tarquin seven 
hurts i' the body. 140 

Men. One i' the neck, and two i' the thigh, 
— there's nine that I know. 

Vol. He had, before this last expedition, 
twenty-five wounds upon him. 

Men. Now it 's twenty-seven : every gash 
was an enemy's grave. [A shout and 
flourish?^ Hark ! the trumpets. 

Vol. These are the ushers of Marcius : 
before him he carries noise, and behind him 
he leaves tears. 



52 CORIOLANUS. [act ii. 

Death, that dark spirit, in 's nervy arm 

doth lie : 
Which, being advanc'd, declines, and 
15° then men die. 

A sennet. Trumpets sound. Enter COMINIUS 
the general, and Titus Lartius ; be- 
tween them, CORIOLANUS, crowned with 
an oaken garland ; with Captains and 
Soldiers, and a Herald. 

Her. Know, Rome, that all alone Marcius 
did fight 
Within Corioli gates : where he hath won, 
With fame, a name toCaius Marcius , these 
In honor follows Coriolanus ! Welcome 
to Rome, renown'd Coriolanus ! 

{Flourish. 
All. Welcome to Rome, renown'd Corio- 
lanus ! 
Cor. No more of this ; it does offend my 
heart : 
Pray now, no more. 

Com. Look, sir, your mother ! 

Cor. Oh, 

You have, I know, petition'd all the gods - 

For my prosperity ! {Kneels. 

Vol. Nay, my good soldier, up; 

160 My gentle Caius, worthy Marcius, and 

By deed-achieving honor newly named, — 

What is it ? — Coriolanus must I call 

thee ?— 
But, oh, thy wife! 

Cor. My gracious silence, hail ! 



sc. i.] CORIOLANUS. 53 

Wouldst thou have laugh'd had f come 

coffin'd home, 
That weep'st'to see me triumph? Ah, my 

dear, 
Such eyes the widows in Corioli wear, 
And mothers that lack sons. 

Men. Now, the gods crown thee s 

Cor. And live you yet ? \ToValerid\ O 

my sweet lady, pardon. 
Vol, I know not where to turn : oh, wel- 
come home : 170 
And welcome, general : and ye 're welcome 
all. 
Men. A hundred thousand welcomes. I 
could weep 
And I could laugh, I 'm light and heavy. 

Welcome. 
A curse begin at very root on 's heart 
That is not glad to see thee ! You are three 
That Rome should dote on : yet, by the 

faith of men, 
We Ve some old crab-trees here at home 

that will not 
Be grafted to your relish. Yet welcome, 

warriors : 
We call a nettle but a nettle and 
The faults of fools but folly. 

Com. Ever right. 180 

Cor. Menenius ever, ever. 
Herald. Give way there, and go on ! 
Cor. [To Volumnia and Virgilia] Your 
hand and yours : 
Ere in our own house I do shade my head, 



54 CORIOLANUS. [act ii. 

The good patricians must be visited ; 
From whom I have receiv'd not only greet- 
ings 
But with them change of honors. 

Vol. I have lived 

To see inherited my very wishes 
And the buildings of my fancy : only 
There 's one thing wanting, which I doubt 

not but 
Our Rome will cast upon thee. 
190 Cor. Know, good mother, 

I had rather be their servant in my way, 
Than sway with them in theirs. 

Com. On, to the Capitol ! 

{Flourish. Cornets. Exeunt in state, as before. 
Brutus and Sicinius come forward. 

Bru. All tongues speak of him, and the 

bleared sights 
Are spectacled to see him : your prattling 

nurse 
Into a rapture lets her baby cry 
While she chats of him : the kitchen malkin 

pins 
Her richest lockram 'bout her reechy neck, 
Clambering the walls to eye him : stalls, 

bulks, windows, 
Are smother'd up, leads fill'd, and ridges 

hors'd 
200 With variable complexions, all agreeing 
In earnestness to see him : seld-shown fla- 

mens 



sc. i.] CORIOLANUS. 55 

Do press among the popular throngs and 

puff 
To win a vulgar station : our veil'd dames 
Commit the war of white and damask in 
Their nicely-gauded cheeks to th' wanton 

spoil 
Of Phoebus' burning kisses : such a pother 
As if that whatsoever god who leads him 
Were slyly crept into his human powers 
And gave him graceful posture. 

Sic. On the sudden, 

I warrant him consul. 

Bru. Then our office may, 210 

During his power, go sleep. 

Sic. He cannot temperately transport his 

honors 
From where he should begin to th' end, but 

will 
Lose those he 'th won. 

Bru. In that there 's comfort. 

Sic. Doubt not 

The commoners, for whom we stand, but 

they 
Upon their ancient malice will forget 
With the least cause these his new honors; 

which 
That he will give them make as little question 
As he is proud to do 't. 

Bru. I heard him swear, 

Were he to stand for consul, never would he 220 
Appear i' the market-place nor on him put 
The napless vesture of humility ; 
Nor, showing, as the manner is, his wounds 



56 CORIOLANUS. [act ii. 

To th' people, beg their stinking breaths. 
Sic. 'T is right. 

Bru. It was his word : oh, he would miss 
it rather 
Than carry it but by the suit of the gentry 

to him 
And the desire of the nobles. 

Sic. I wish no better 

Than have him hold that purpose and to 

put it 
In execution. 
Bru. 'T is most like he will. 

Sic. It shall be to him then as our good 
230 wills, 

A sure destruction. 

Bru. So it must fall out. 

To him or our authorities. For an end, 
We must suggest the people in what hatred 
He still hath held them ; that to 's power he 

would 
Have made them mules, silenc'd their plead- 
ers and 
Dispropertied their freedoms, holding them, 
Inhuman action and capacity, 
Of no more soul nor fitness for the world 
Than camels in the war, who have their 
pro van d 
240 Only for bearing burdens, and sore blows 
For sinking under them. 

Sic. This, as you say, suggested 

At some time when his soaring insolence 
Shall touch the people, — which time shall 
not want, 



sc. II.] CORIOLANUS. 57 

If he be put upon 't, and that 's as easy 
As to set dogs on sheep — will be as fire 
To kindle their dry stubble ; and their blaze 
Shall darken him for ever. 

Enter a Messenger. 

Bru. What 's the matter ? 

Mess. You are sent for to the Capitol. 
'T is thought 
That Marcius shall be consul : 
I 've seen the dumb men throng to see him 

and 250 

The blind to hear him speak : matrons flung 

gloves, 
Ladies and maids their scarfs and handker- 

chers, 
Upon him as he pass'd : the nobles bended 
As to Jove's statue, and the commons made 
A shower and thunder with their caps and 

shouts : 
I never saw the like. 

Bru. Let 's to the Capitol ; 

And carry with us ears and eyes for th' 

time, 
But hearts for the event. 

Sic. Have with you. [Exeunt. 

SCENE II. The Same. The Capitol. 
Enter two Officers, to lay cushions. 

First Off. Come, come, they are almost 
here. How many stand for consulships ? 



58 CORIOLANUS. [act II. 

Sec. Off. Three, they say : but 't is thought 
of every one Coriolanus will carry it. 

First Off. That 's a brave fellow; but he 
's vengeance proud, and loves not the com- 
mon people. 

Sec. Off. Faith, there have been many 
great men that have flatter'd the people, 
who ne'er lov'd them ; and there be many 
that they have lov'd, they know not where- 
fore : so that, if they love they know not 
why, they hate upon no better a ground : 
therefore, for Coriolanus neither to care 
whether they love or hate him manifests the 
true knowledge he has in their disposition : 
and out of his noble carelessness lets them 
plainly see 't. 

First Off. If he did not care whether he 
had their love or no, he 'd wave indifferently 
'twixt doing them neither good nor harm : 
but he seeks their hate with greater devo- 
tion than they can render it him ; and leaves 
nothing undone that may fully discover him 
their opposite. Now, to seem to affect the 
malice and displeasure of the people is as 
bad as that which he dislikes, to flatter them 
21 for their love. 

Sec. Off. He hath deserv'd worthily of his 
country : and his ascent is not \yy such easy 
degrees as those who, having been supple 
and courteous to the people, bonneted, with- 
out any further deed to have them at all 
into their estimation and report : but he 
hath so planted his honors in their eyes, and 



sc. II.] CORIOLANUS. 59 

his actions in their hearts, that for their 
tongues to be silent, and not confess so 
much, were a kind of ingrateful injury ; to 
report otherwise were a malice, that, giving 
itself the lie, would pluck reproof and rebuke 
from every ear that heard it. 31 

First Off. No more of him ; he 's a worthy 
man : make way, they are coming. 

A sennet. Enter, with Lictors before them, 
Cominius the consul, Menenius, Corio- 
lanus, Senators, Sicinius, and Brutus. 
The Senators take their places ; the Trib- 
unes take their places by themselves. Co- 
RIOLANUS stands. 

Men. Having determin'd of the Volsces, 
and 
To send for Titus Lartius, it remains, 
As the main point of this our after-meeting, 
To gratify his noble service that 
Hath thus stood for his country : therefore, 

please you, 
Most reverend and grave elders, to desire 
The present consul, and last general 40 

In our well-found successes, to report 
A little of that worthy work perform'd 
By Cains Marcius Coriolanus, whom 
We meet here both to thank and to remem- 
ber 
With honors like himself. 

First Sen. Speak, good Cominius : 

Leave nothing out for length, and make us 
think 



60 CORIOLANUS. [act n. 

Rather our state's defective for requital 
Than we to stretch it out. [ To the Trib- 
unes] Masters o' the people, 
We do request your kindest ears, and after, 
Your loving motion toward the common 
50 body, 

To yield what passes here. 

Sic. We are convented 

Upon a pleasing treaty, and have hearts 
Inclinable to honor and advance 
The theme of our assembly. 

Bru. Which the rather 

We shall be blest to do, if he remember 
A kinder value of the people than 
He hath hereto priz'd them at. 

Men. That's off, that's off ; 

I would you rather had been silent. Please 

you 
To hear Cominius speak ? 

B?-u. Most willingly ; 

60 But yet my caution was more pertinent 
Than the rebuke you give it. 

Men. He loves your people ; 

But tie him not to be their bedfellow. 
Worthy Cominius, speak. \Coriolamis offers 
to go away.] Nay, keep your place. 
First Sen. Sit, Coriolanus ; never shame 
to hear 
What you have nobly done. 

Cor. Your honors' pardon : 

I 'd rather have my wounds to heal again 
Than hear say how I got them. 

B711. Sir, I hope 



sc. II.] CORIOLANUS. 6r 

My words disbench'd you not. 

Cor. No, sir : yet oft, 

When blows have made me stay, I fled from 

words. 
You sooth'd not, therefore hurt not: but 

your people, — 7° 

I love them as they weigh. 
Men. Pray now, sit down. 

Cor. I 'd rather have one scratch my head 

i' the sun 
When the alarum were struck than idly 

sit 

To hear my nothings monster'd. \Exit. 

Men. Masters of the people, 

Your multiplying spawn how can he flatter — ■ 

That 's thousand to one good one — when 

you now see 
He 'd rather venture all his limbs for honor 
Than one on 's ears to hear 't ? Proceed, 

Cominius. 
Com. I shall lack voice: the deeds of 

Coriolanus 
Should not be utter'd feebly. It is held 80 
That valor is the chiefest virtue, and 
Most dignifies the haver : if it be, 
The man I speak of cannot in the world 
Be singly counterpois'd. At sixteen years, 
When Tarquin made a head for Rome, he 

fought 
Beyond the mark of others .* our then dic- 
tator, 
Whom with all praise I point at, saw him 

fight. 



62 CORIOLANUS. [act ii. 

When with his Amazonian chin he drove 
The bristled lips before him : he bestrid 
An o'erpress'd Roman, and i' the consul's 
9° view 

Slew three opposers : Tarquin's self he met, 
And struck him on his knee : in that day's 

feats, 
When he might act the woman in the scene, 
He prov'd best man i' the field, and for his 

meed 
Was brow-bound with the oak. His pupil 

age 
Man-enter'd thus, he waxed like a sea, 
And, in the brunt of seventeen battles since, 
He lurch'd all swords of the garland. For 

this last, 
Before and in Corioli, let me say 
I cannot speak him home : he stopp'd the 
loo fliers ; 

And by his rare example made the coward 
Turn terror into sport : as weeds before 
A vessel under sail, so men obey'd 
And fell below his stem : his sword, death's 

stamp, 
Where it did mark, it took; from face to 

foot 
He was a thing of blood, whose every motion 
Was tim'd with dying cries : alone he enter'd 
The mortal gate of the city, which he painted 
With shunless destiny ; aidless came off, 
no And with a sudden re-inforcement struck 
Corioli like a planet : now all 's his : 
When, by and by, the din of war gan pierce 



sc. ii.] CORIOLANUS. 63 

His ready sense ; then straight his doubled 

spirit 
Re-quicken 'd what in flesh was fatigate, 
And to the battle came he ; where he did 
Run reeking o'er the lives of men, as if 
'T were a perpetual spoil : and, till we call'd 
Both field and city ours, he never stood 
To ease his breast with panting. 

Men. Worthy man ! 

First Sen. He cannot but with measure 
fit the honors 
Which we devise him. 120 

Com. Our spoils he kick'd at, 

And look'd upon things precious as they 

were 
The common muck of the world : he covets 

less 
Than misery itself would gflve ; rewards 
His deeds with doing them, and is content 
To spend the time to end it. 

Men. He 's right noble : 

Let him be call'd for. 

First Sen. Call Coriolanus. 

Off. He doth appear. 

Re-enter Coriolanus. 

Men. The senate, Coriolanus, are well 
pleas'd 
To make thee consul. 

Cor. I do owe them still 130 

My life and services. 

Men. It then remains 

That you do speak to the people. 



64 CORIOLANUS. [act ii. 

Cor. I do beseech you, 

Let me o'erleap that custom, for I cannot 
Put on the gown, stand naked and entreat 

them, 
For my wounds' sake, to give their suffrage : 

please you 
That I may pass this doing. 

Sic. Sir, the people 

Must have their voices ; neither will they bate 
One jot of ceremony. 

Men, Put them not to 't : 

Pray you, go fit you to the custom, and 
140 Take to you, as your predecessors have, 
Your honor with your form. 

Cor. It is a part 

That I shall blush in acting, and might well 
Be taken from the people. 
Bru. Mark you that ? 

Cor. To brag unto them, thus I did, and 
thus; 
Show them the unaching scars which I 

should hide, 
As if I had receiv'd them for the hire 
Of their breath only ! 

Men. Do not stand upon 't. 

We recommend to you, tribunes of the 

people, 
Our purpose to them : and to our noble 
consul 
150 Wish we all joy and honor. 

Senators. To Coriolanus come all joy and 

honor J [Flourish of cornets. Exeunt 

all but Sicinius and Brutus. 



sc. in.] CORIOLANUS. 65 

Brn. You see how he intends to use the 
people. 

Sic. May the)'' perceive 's intent ! He will 
require them, 
As if he did contemn what he requested 
Should be in them to give. 

Bru. Come, we '11 inform them 

Of our proceedings here : on the market- 
place 
I know they do attend us. . \Exeu?it. 

Scene III. The same. The Forum. 
Enter seven or eight Citizens. 

First Cit. Once, if he do require our 
voices, we ought not to deny him. 

Sec. Cit. We may, sir, if we will. 

Third Cit. We have power in ourselves 
to do it, but it is a power that we have no 
power to do; for, if he show us his wounds 
and tell us his deeds, we are to put our 
tongues into those wounds and speak for 
them ; so, if he tell us his noble deeds, we 
must also tell him our noble acceptance of 
them. Ingratitude is monstrous; and for 
the multitude to be ingrateful were to make 
a monster of the multitude ; of the which 
we, being members, should bring ourselves 
to be monstrous members. 12 

First at. And to make us no better 
thought of, a little help will serve ; for once 
we stood up about the corn, he himself 



66 CORIOLANUS. [act ir. 

stuck not to call us the many-headed multi- 
tude. 

Third Cit. We have been called so of 
many ; not that our heads are some brown r 
some black, some auburn, some bald, but 
that our wits are so diversely color'd : and 
truly I think if all our wits were to issue 
out of one skull, they would fly east, west, 
north, south, and their consent of one direct 
way should be at once to all the points o r 
21 the compass. 

Sec. Cit. Think you so? Which way do 
you judge my wit would fly? 

Third Cit. Nay, your wit will not so soon 
out as another man's will ; 't is strongly 
wedged up in a block-head ; but, if it were 
at liberty, 'twould, sure, southward. 

Sec. Cit. Why that way ? 

Third Cit. To lose itself in a fog, where, 
being three parts melted away with rotten 
dews, the fourth would return for conscience' 
30 sake to help to get thee a wife. 

Sec. Cit. You are never without your 
tricks : you may, you may. 

Third Cit. Are you all resolv'd to give 
your voices? But that's no matter, the 
greater part carries it. I say, if he would 
incline to the people, there was never a 
worthier man. 

Enter CORIOLANUS in a gown of humility, 
with Men en 1 us. 

Here he comes, and in the srown of hu- 



SC III.] CORIOLANUS. 67 

mility : mark his behavior. We are not 
to stay all together, but to come by him 
where he stands, by ones, by twos, and by 
threes. He 's to make his requests by par- 
ticulars ; wherein every one of us has a 
single honor, in giving him our own voices 
with our own tongues : therefore follow me, 
and I'll direct you how you shall go by him. 

All. Content, content. 
' ' {Exeunt Citizens, 

Men. O sir, you are not right : have you 
not known 
The worthiest men have done 't ? 

Cor. What must I say? 

"I pray, sir," — Plague upon't! I cannot 

bring 
My tongue to such a pace : — " Look, sir, my 

wounds ! 
I got them in my country's service, when 
Some certain of your brethren roar'd and 

ran 50 

From th' noise of our own drums." 

Men. O me, the gods ! 

You must not speak of that : you must de- 
sire them 
To think upon you. 

Cor. Think upon me ! hang 'em ! 

I would they would forget me, like the vir- 
tues 
Which our divines lose by 'em. 

Men. You'll mar all : 

I'll leave you : pray you, speak to 'em, I 
pray you, 



68 CORIOLANUS. [act ii. 

In wholesome manner. {Exit. 

Cor. Bid them wash their faces, 

And keep their teeth clean. 

{Re-enter two of the Citizens. 
So, here comes a brace. 
{Re-enter a third citizen. 
You know the cause, sirs, of my standing 
here. 
Third Cit. We do, sir ; tell us what hath 
60 brought you to 't. 

Cor. Mine own desert. 
Sec. Cit. Your own desert ! 
Cor. Ay, not mine own desire. 
Third Cit. How not 3^our own desire ? 
Cor. No, sir, 't was never my desire yet to 

trouble the poor with begging. 
Third Cit. You must think, if we give 
you any thing, we hope to gain by you, 

Cor. Well then, I pray, your price o' the 
consulship ? 
70 First Cit. The price is to ask it kindly. 
Cor. Kindly ! Sir, I pray, let me ha 't •, I 
have wounds to show you, which shall be 
yours in private. Your good voice, sir ; 
what say you ? 

Sec. Cit. You shall ha 't, worthy sir. 
Cor. A match, sir. There's in all two 
worthy voices begg'd. I have your alms : 
adieu. 

Third Cit. But this is something odd. 
Sec. Cit. An 't were to give again, — but 
't is no matter. 

{Exeunt the three Citizens. 



sc. in.] CORIOLANUS. 69 



Re-enter two other Citizens. 

Cor. Pray you now, if it may stand with 
the tune of your voices that I maybe consul, 
I have here the customary gown. 81 

Fourth Czt. You have deserv'd nobly of 
your country, and you have not deserv'd 
nobly. 

Cor. Your enigma? 

Fourth Cit. You have been a scourge to 
her enemies, you have been a rod to her 
friends ; you have not indeed lov'd the com- 
mon people. 

Cor. You should account me the more 
virtuous that I have not been common in 
my love. I will, sir, flatter my sworn 
brother, the people, to earn a dearer estima- 
tion of them ; 't is a condition they account 
gentle : and, since the wisdom of their 
choice is rather to have my hat than my 
heart, I will practise the insinuating nod 
and be off to them most counterfeitly ; that 
is, sir, I will counterfeit the bewitchment of 
some popular man and give it bountiful to 
the desirers. Therefore, beseech you, I 
may be consul. 

Fifth Cit. We hope to find you our friend, 
and therefore give you our voices heartily. 

Fourth Cit. You have receiv'd many 
wounds for your country. 100 

Cor. I will not seal your knowledge with 
showing them. I will make much of your 
voices, and so trouble you no further. 



70 CORIOLANUS. [act ii. 

Both Cit. The gods give you joy, sir, 
heartily ! [Exeunt. 

Cor. Most sweet voices ! 
Better it is to die, better to starve, 
Than crave the hire which first we do de- 
serve. 
Why in this woolvish toge should I stand 

here, 
To beg of Hob and Dick, that do appear, 
Their needless vouches ? Custom calls me 
no to't: 

What custom wills, in all things should we 

do 't, 
The dust on antique time would lie unswept, 
And mountainous error be too highly heapt 
For truth to o'er-peer. Rather than fool it 

so, 
Let the high office and the honor go 
To one that would do thus. I am half 

through ; 
The one part suffer'd, th' other will I do. 

Re-enter three Citizens more. 

Here comes more voices. 
Your voices : for your voices I have fought; 
Watch'd for your voices ; for your voices 
i 20 bear 

Of wounds two dozen odd ; battles thrice six 
I 've seen and heard of ; for your voices have 
Done many things, some less, some more : 

your voices: 
Indeed, I would be consul. 



sc. in.] CORIOLANUS. 71 

Sixth Cit. He has done nobly, and cannot 
go without any honest man's voice. 

Seventh Cit. Therefore let him be consul : 
the gods give him joy, and make him good 
friend to the people. 

All Cit. Amen, amen. God save thee, 
noble consul ! [Exeunt. 

Cor. Worthy voices ! 13° 

Re-enter Menenius. with Brutus and 

SlCINIUS, 

Men. You 've stood your limitation ; and 
the tribunes 
Endue you with the people's voice : remains 
That, in th' official marks invested, you 
Anon do meet the senate. 

Cor, Is this done? 

Sic. The custom of request you have dis- 
charg'd : 
The people do admit you and aresummon'd 
To meet anon, upon your approbation 
Cor. Where? at the senate-house? 
Sic. There, Coriolanus. 

Cor. May I then change these garments ? 
Sic. You may, sir, 

Cor. That I '11 straight do ; and, knowing 
myself again, 140 

Repair to the senate-house. 
Men. I '11 keep you company. Will you 

along ? 
Bru. We stay here for the people. 
Sic. Fare you well. 

[Exeunt Coriolanus and Menenius. 



72 CO RIO LAN US. [act ii. 

He has it now, and by his looks methinks 
'T is warm at 's heart. 

Bru. With a proud heart he wore his 
humble weeds. 
Will you dismiss the people ? 
Re-enter Citizens. 
Sic. How now, my masters ! have you 

chose this man? 
First Cit. He has our voices, sir. 
Brut. We pray the gods he may deserve 
150 your loves. 

Sec. Cit. Amen, sir : to my poor, unworthy 
notice, 
He mock'd us when he begg'd our voices. 

Third Cit. Certainly 

He flouted us downright. 
First Cit. No, 't is his kind of speech : he 

did not mock us. 
Sec. Cit. Not one amongst us, save your- 
self, but says 
He us'd us scornfully : he should have 

show'd us 
His marks of merit, wounds receiv'd for 's 
country. 
Sic. Why, so he did, I am sure. 
Citizens. No, no ; no man saw 'em. 

Third Cit. He said he had wounds, which 
he could show in private; 
160 And with his hat, thus waving it in scorn, 
" I would be consul" says he : " aged custom 
But by your voices will not so permit me; 
Your voices therefore." When we granted 
that, 



sc. in.] CORIOLANUS. 73 

Here was, " I thank you for your voices : 

thank you : 
Your most sweet voices : now you 've left 

your voices, 
I have no further with you." Was not this 
mockery ? 
Sic. Why either were you ignorant to 

see 't, 
Or, seeing it, of such childish friendliness 
To yield your voices ? 

Bru. Could you not have told him, 

As you were lesson'd, when he had no 

power, 17° 

But was a petty servant to the state, 
He was your enemy, ever spake against 
Your liberties and the charters that you 

bear 
V the body o' the weal ; and now, arriving 
A place of potency and sway o' the state, 
If he should still malignantly remain 
Fast foe to the plebeii, your voices might 
Be curses to yourselves ? You should have 

said 
That, as his worthy deeds did claim no less 
Than what he stood for, so his gracious 

nature 180 

Would think upon you for your voices and 
Translate his malice towards you into love, 
Standing your friendly lord. 

Sic. Thus to have said, 

As you were fore-advis'd, had touch 'd his 

spirit 
And tried his inclination ; from him pluck'd 



74 CORIOLANUS. [act ii. 

Either his gracious promise, which you 

might, 
As cause had call'd you up, have held him to; 
Or else it would have gall'd his surly nature, 
Which easily endures not article 
Tying him to aught ; so putting him to 
190 rage, 

You should have ta'en the advantage of his 

choler 
And pass'd him unelected. 

Brii. Did you perceive 

He did solicit you in free contempt 
When he did need your loves, and do you 

think 
That his contempt shall not be bruising to 

you, 
When he hath power to crush ? Why, had 

your bodies 
No heart among you ? or had you tongues 

to cry 
Against the rectorship of judgment? 

Sic. Have you 

Ere now denied the asker? and now again 
200 Of him that did not ask, but mock, bestow 
Your sued-for tongues ? 

Third Cit. He 's not confirm'd ; we may 

deny him yet. 
Second Cit. And will deny him : 
I'll have five hundred voices of that sound. 
First Cit. I twice five hundred and their 
friends to piece 'em. 

Bru. Get you hence instantly, and tell 
those friends 



so. in.] CORIOLANUS. 75 

They 've chose a consul that will from them 

take 
Their liberties : make them of no more voice 
Than dogs, that are as often beat for 

barking 
As therefore kept to do so. 

Sic. Let them assemble, 210 

And on a safer judgment all revoke 
Your ignorant election ; enforce his pride, 
And his old hate unto you ; besides, forget 

not 
With what contempt he wore the humble 

weed, 
How in his suit he scorn'd you ; but your 

loves, 
Thinking upon his services, took from you 
The apprehension of his present portance, 
Which, gibing most ungravely, he did 

fashion 
After th' inveterate hate he bears you. 

Bru. Lay 

A fault on us, your tribunes ; that welabor'd, 220 
No impediment between, but that you must 
Cast your election on him. 

Sic. Say, you chose him 

More after our commandment than as 

guided 
'By your own true affections, and that your 

minds, 
Pre-occupied with what you rather must do 
Than what you should, made you against 

the grain 
To voice him consul : lay the fault on us. 



76 CORIOLANUS. [act ii. 

Bru. Ay, spare us not. Say we read lec- 
tures to you, 
How youngly he began to serve his country, 
How long continu'd, and what stock he 
230 springs of, 

The noble house o' the Marcians, from 

whence came 
That Angus Marcius, Numa's daughter's 

son, 
Who, after great Hostilius, here was king ; 
Of the same house Publius and Quintus 

were, 
That our best water brought by conduits 

hither; 
And [Censorinus,] who was nobly nam'd so, 
Twice being [by the people chosen] censor, 
Was his great ancestor. 

Sic. One thus descended, 

That hath beside well in his person wrought 
240 To be set high in place, we did commend 
To your remembrances : but you have 

found, 
Scaling his present bearing with his past, 
That he 's your fixed enemy, and revoke 
Your sudden approbation. 

Bru. Say, you ne'er had done 't — 

Harp on that still — but by our putting on : 
And presently, when you have drawn your 

number, 
Repair to the Capitol. 

All. We will so : almost all 

Repent in their election. {Exeunt Citizens. 
Brti. Let them go on ; 



sc. I.] CORIOLANUS. 77 

This mutiny were better put in hazard 

Than stay, past doubt, for greater. 250 

If, as his nature is, he fall in rage 

With their refusal, both observe and answer 

The vantage of his anger. 

Sic. To the Capitol, come: 

We will be there before the stream o' the 

people ; 
And this shall seem, as partly 't is, their 

own, 
Which we have goaded onward. [Exeunt. 



ACT III. 

Scene I. Rome. A street. 

Cornets. Enter Coriolanus, Menenius, 
all the Gentry, Cominius, Titus Lar- 
tius, and other Senators. 

Cor. Tullus Aufidius then had made new 

head ? 
Lart. He had, my lord ; and that it was 
which caus'd 
Our swifter composition. 

Cor. So then the Volsces stand but as 
at first, 
Ready, when time shall prompt them, to 

make road 
Upon 's again. 

Com. They 're worn, lord consul, so 
That we shall hardly in our ages see 



78 CORIOLANUS. [act hi. 

Their banners wave again. 

Cor. Saw you Aufidius ? 

Lart. On safe-guard he came to me ; and 
did curse 
10 Against the Volsces, for they had so vilely 
Yielded the town : he is retir'd to Antium. 
Cor. Spoke he of me ? 
Lart. He did, my lord. 

Cor. How ? what? 

Lart. How often he had met you, sword 
to sword ; 
That of all things upon the earth he hated 
Your person most ; that he would pawn his 

fortunes 
To hopeless restitution, so he might 
Be call'd your vanquisher. 

Cor. At Antium lives he ? 

Lart. At Antium. 

Cor. I wish I had a cause to seek him 
there, 
20 T' oppose his hatred fully. Welcome home. 

Enter Sicinius and Brutus. 

Behold, these are the tribunes of the people, 
the common mouth : i do 
despise them ; 
For they do prank them in authority, 
Against all noble sufferance. 

Sic. Pass no further. 

Cor. Ha ! what is that ? 

Bru. It will be dangerous to go on : no 

further. 
Cor. What makes this change ? 



sc. i.] CORIOLANUS, 79 

Men. The matter? 

Coin. Hath he not pass'd the noble and 

the common ? 
Bru. Cominius, no. 

Cor. Have I had children's voices ? 30 

First Sen. Tribunes, give way ; he shall 

to th' market-place. 
Bru. The people are incens'd against him. 
Sic. Stop, 

Or all will fall in broil. 

Cor. Are these your herd? 

Must these have voices, that can yield them. 

now 
And straight disclaim their tongues ? What 

are your offices ? 
You being their mouths, why rule you not 

their teeth ? 
Have you not set them on ? 
Men. Be calm, be calm. 

Cor. It is a purpos'd thing, and grows by 
plot, 
To curb the will of the nobility : 
Suffer 't, and live with such as cannot rule 4a 
Nor ever will be rul'd. 

Bru. Call 't not a plot : 

The people cry you mock'd them, and of 

late, 
When corn was given them gratis, you re- 

pin'd ; 
Scandal'd the suppliants for the people,. 

call'd them 
Time-pleasers, flatterers, foes to nobleness.. 
Cor. Why, this was known before. 



80 CORIOLANUS. [act hi. 

Bru. Not to them all. 

Cor. Have you inform'd them sithence? 
Bru. How ! I inform them ! 

Com. You are like to do such business. 
Bru. . Not unlike, 

Each way. to better yours. 

Cor. Why then should I be consul ? By 
50 yond clouds, 

Let me deserve so ill as you, and make me 
Your fellow tribune. 

Sic. You show too much of that 

For which the people stir : if you will pass 
To where you 're bound, you must inquire 

your way, 
Which you are out of, with a gentler spirit, 
Or never be so noble as a consul, 
Nor yoke with him for tribune. 
Me?i. Let 's be calm. 

Com. The people are abus'd ; set on. This 
paltering 
Becomes not Rome, nor has Coriolanus 
60 Deserv'd this so dishonor'd rub, laid falsely 
I' the plain way of his merit. 

Cor. Tell me of corn ! 

This was my speech, and I will speak 't 
again — 
Men. Not now, not now. 
First Sen. Not in this heart, sir, now. 

Cor. Now, as I live, I will. My nobler 
friends, 
I crave their pardons : 

For th' mutable, rank-scented many, let 
them 



sc. I.] CORIOLANUS. 81 

Regard me as I do not flatter, and 
Therein behold themselves : I say again, 
In soothing them, we nourish 'gainst our 

senate 
The cockle of rebellion, insolence, sedition, 70 
Which we ourselves have plough'd for, 

sow'd, and scatter'd, 
By mingling them with us, the honor'd 

number, 
Who lack not virtue, no, nor power, but 

that 
Which the)'' have given to beggars. 

Men. Well, no more. 

First Sen. No more words, we beseech 

you. 
Cor. How ! no more ! 

As for my country I have shed my blood, 
Not fearing outward force, so shall my lungs 
Coin words till they decay against those 

measles 
Which we disdain should tetter us, yet 

sought 
The very way to catch them. 

Brn. You speak o' the people 80 

As if you were a god to punish, not 
A man of their infirmity. 

Sic. 'T were well 

We let the people know 't. 
Men. What, what ? his choler ? 

Cor. Choler ! 
Were I as patient as the midnight sleep, 
By Jove, 't would be my mind ! 

Sic. It is a mind 



82 CORIOLANUS. [act hi. 

That shall remain a poison where it is, 
Not poison any further. 

Cor. " Shall remain " ! 

Hear you this Triton of the minnows ? mark 

you 
His absolute " shall " ? 

Coin. 'T was from the canon. 

90 Cor. " Shall ! " 

O good but most unwise patricians ! why, 
You grave but reckless senators, have you 

thus 
Given Hydra here to choose an officer 
That with his peremptory "shall," being 

but 
The horn and noise o' the monster, wants 

not spirit 
To say he '11 turn your current in a ditch, 
And make your channel his? If he have 

power, 
Then vail your impotence ; if none, revoke 
Your dangerous lenity. If you are learn'd, 
100 Be not as common fools ; if you are not, 
Let them have cushions by you. You are 

plebeians, 
If they be senators : and they 're no less, 
When, both your voices blended, the great'st 

taste 
Most palates theirs. They choose their 

magistrate, 
And such a one as he, who puts his "shall," 
His popular " shall," against a graver bench 
Than ever frown'd in Greece. By Jove 

himself, 



sc. i.] CORIOLANUS. 83 

It makes the consuls base ! and my soul 

acjhes 
To know, when two authorities are up, 
Neither supreme, how soon confusion no 

May enter 'twixt the gap of both and take 
The one by the other. 

Co?n. Well, on to the market-place. 

Cor. Whoever gave that counsel, to give 

forth 
The corn o' th' storehouse gratis, as 't was 

used 
Sometime in Greece, — 
Men. Well, well, no more of that. 

Cor. — Though there the people had more 

absolute power, — 
I say, they nourish'd disobedience, fed 
The ruin of the state. 

Bru. Why shall the people give 

One that speaks thus their voice ? 

Cor. I '11 give my reasons, 

More worthier than their voices. They 

know the corn 120 

Was not our recompense, resting well assur'd 
They ne'er did service for't: being press'd 

to th' war, 
Even when the navel of the state was 

touch'd, 
They would not thread the gates. This 

kind of service 
Did not deserve corn gratis. Being i' the 

war, 
Their mutinies and revolts, wherein they 

show'd 



84 CORIOLANUS. [act hi. 

Most valor, spoke not for them : th' accusa- 
tion 
Which they have often made against the 

senate, 
All cause unborn, could never be the 
motive 
130 Of our so frank donation. Well, what then ? 
How shall this bisson multitude digest 
The senate's courtesy? ' Let deeds express 
What's like to be their words: "We did 

request it; 
We are the greater poll, and in true fear 
They gave us our demands." Thus we de- 
base 
The nature of our seats and make the 

rabble 
Call our cares fears ; which will in time 
Break ope the locks o' the Senate and bring 

in 
The crows to peck the eagles. 

Men. Come, enough. 

Bru. Enough, with over-measure. 
140 Cor. No, take more : 

What may be sworn by, both divine and 

human, 
Seal what I end withal ! This double wor- 
ship- 
Where one part does disdain with cause, 

the other 
Insult without all reason, where gentry, title, 

wisdom 
Cannot conclude but by the yea and no 
Of general ignorance, — it must omit 



sc. I.] CORIOLANUS. 85 

Real necessities, and give way the while 
T' unstable slightness : purpose so barr'd, it 

follows, 
Nothing is done to purpose. Therefore, 

beseech you, — 
You that will be less fearful than discreet, 153 
That love the fundamental part of state 
More than you doubt the change on 't, that 

prefer 
A noble life before a long, and wish 
To jump a body with a dangerous physic 
That 's sure of death without it, at once 

pluck out 
The multitudinous tongue; let them not 

lick 
The sweet which is their poison : your dis- 
honor 
Mangles true judgment and bereaves the 

state 
Of that integrity which should become 't, 
Not having the power to do the good it 

would, 160 

For th' ill which doth control 't. 
Bru. 'Has said enough. ' 

Sic. 'Has spoken like a traitor, and shall 

answer 
As traitors do. 

Cor. Thou wretch, despite o'erwhelm 

thee ! 
What should the people do with these bald 

tribunes ? 
On whom depending, their obedience fails 
To the greater bench : in a rebellion, 



86 CORIOLANUS. [act hi. 

When what 's not meet, but what must be, 

was law, 
Then were they chosen : in a better hour, 
170 Let what is meet be said it must be meet, 
And throw their power i' the dust. 
Bru. Manifest treason ! 
Sic. This a consul ? no. 

Bru. Th' aediles, ho! 

Enter an iEdile. 

Let him be apprehended. 
Sic. Go, call the people : {Exit yEdile\ in 
whose name myself 
Attach thee as a traitorous innovator, 
A foe to th' public weal: obey, I charge 

thee, 
And follow to thine answer. 

Cor. Hence, old goat ! 

Senators, etc. We '11 surety him. 
Com. Ag'd sir, hands off. 

Cor. Hence, rotten thing ! or I shall shake 
thy bones 
Out of thy garments. 
180 Sic. Help, ye citizens ! 

Enter a rabble 0/ Citizens {Plebeians) with 

the iEdiles. 
Men. On both sides more respect. 
Sic. Here 's he that would take from you 

all your power. 
Bru. Seize him, sediles ! 
Citizens. Down with him ! down with 

him ! 



sc. I.] CORIOLANUS. 87 

Senators, etc. Weapons, weapons, weap- 
ons ! 

[ They all bustle about Coriolanus, crying 

" Tribunes!" "Patricians!" "Citizens!" 

" What, ho ! " 
•" Sicinius ! " "Brutus!" "Coriolanus!" 

" Citizens !" 
" Peace, peace, peace ! " " Stay, hold, peace ! " 
Men. What is about to be ? I 'm out of 
breath ; 
Confusion 's near ; I cannot speak. You, 

tribunes 190 

To the people ! Coriolanus, patience ! 
Speak, good Sicinius. 

Sic. Hear me, people ; peace ! 

Citizens. Let 's hear our tribune : peace ! 

Speak, speak, speak. 
Sic. You are at point to lose your liberties : 
Marcius would have all from you ; Marcius, 
Whom late you 've nam'd for consul. 

Men. Fie, fie, fie ! 

This is the way to kindle, not to quench. 
First Sen. T' unbuild the city and to lay 

all flat. 
Sic. What is the city but the people ? 
Citizens. True, 

The people are the city. 200 

Bru. By the consent of all, we were 
established 
The people's magistrates. 

Citizens. You so remain. 

Men. And so are like to do. 



CORIOLANUS. 



[act III. 



Cor. That is the way to lay the city flat ; 
To bring the roof to the foundation, 
And bury all, which yet distinctly ranges, 
In heaps and piles of ruin. 

Sic. This deserves death. 

Bru. Or let us stand to our authority 
Or let us lose it. We do here pronounce, 
Upon the part o' the people, in whose 
210 power 

We were elected theirs, Marcius is worthy 
Of present death. 

Sic. Therefore lay hold of him ; 

Bear him to th' rock Tarpeian, and from 

thence 
Into destruction cast him. 
Bru. y£diles, seize him ! 

Citizens. Yield, Marcius, yield ! 
Men. Hear me one word ; 

Beseech you, tribunes, hear me but a word. 
JEd. Peace, peace ! 

Men. {To Brutus] Be that you seem, truly 
your country's friend, 
And temperately proceed to what you 

would 
Thus violently redress. 
220 Bru. Sir, those cold ways, 

That seem like prudent helps, are very 

poisonous 
Where the disease is violent. Lay hands 

upon him, 
And bear him to the rock. 

Cor. No, I '11 die here. 

{Drawing his sword. 



sc. I.] C0R10LANUS. 89 

There 's some among you have beheld me 

fighting: 
Come, try upon yourselves what you have 
seen me. 
Men. Down with that sword ! Tribunes, 

withdraw awhile. - 
Bru. Lay hands upon him. 
Men. Help Marcius, help, 

You that be ncble ; help him, young and 
old ! 
Citizens. Down with him, down with him ! 
[In this mutiny, the Tribunes, the JEdiles, 
and the People are beat in. 
Men. Go, get you to your house ; be gone, 

away ! 230 

All will be naught else. 

Sec. Sen. Get you gone. 

Cor. Stand fast ; 

We have as many friends as enemies. 
Men. Shall it be put to that ? 
First Sen. The gods forbid ! 

I prithee, noble friend, home to thy house; 
Leave us to cure this cause. 

Men. For 't is a sore upon us 

You cannot tent yourself : be gone, beseech 
you. 
Com. Come, sir, along with us. 
Cor. I would they were barbarians — as 
they are, 
Though in Rome litter'd ; not Romans; as 

they are not, 
Though calv'd i' the porch o' the Capitol — 
Men. Be gone ; 240 



^o CORIOLANUS. [act hi. 

Put not your worthy rage into your tongue; 
One time will owe another. 

Cor. On fair ground 

I could beat forty of them. 

Men. I could myself 

Take up a brace o' the best of them ; yea, 
the two tribunes.. 
Com. But now 't is odds beyond arith- 
metic ; 
And manhood is call'd foolery, when it 

stands 
Against a falling fabric. Will you hence, 
Before the tag return ? whose rage doth 

rend 
Like interrupted waters and o'erbear 
What they are used to bear. 
250 Men. Pray you, be gone : 

I '11 try whether my old wit be in request 
With those that have but little : this must 

be patch'd 
With cloth of any color. 

Coni. Nay, come away. 

\_Exeunt Coriolanus, Comijiius, and others. 

A Patrician. This man has marr'd his 

fortune. 
Men. His nature is too noble for the 
world : 
He would not flatter Neptune for his tri- 
dent, 
Or Jove for 's power to thunder. His heart 
's his mouth : 



.sc. I.] CORIOLANUS. 91 

What his breast forges that his tongue must 

vent ; 
And, being angry, does forget that ever 
He heard the name of death. 260 

[A noise within. 
Here 's goodly work ! 

Sec. Pat. I would they were a-bed ! 

Men. I would they were in Tiber ! What, 
the vengeance, 
Could he not speak 'em fair? 

Re-enter Brutus and Sicinius, with the 

rabble. 

Sic. Where is this viper 

That would depopulate the city and 
Be every man himself? 

Men. You worthy tribunes, — 

Sic. He shall be thrown down the Tar- 
peian rock 
With rigorous hands : he hath resisted law, 
And therefore law shall scorn him further 

trial 
Than the severity of the public power 
Which he' so sets at naught. 

First Cit. He shall well know 270 

The noble tribunes are the people's mouths, 
And we their hands. 

Citizens. He shall, sure on 't. 

Men. Sir, sir, — 

Sic. Peace ! 

Men. Do not cry havoc, where you should 
but hunt 
With modest warrant. 



92 C0R10LANUS. [act hi. 

Sic. Sir, how comes 't that you 

Have holp to make this rescue ? 

Men. Hear me speak; 

As I do know the consul's worthiness, 
So can I name his faults, — 

Sic. Consul \ what consul ? 

Men. The consul Coriolanus. 
280 Bru. He consul I 

Citizeiis. No, no, no, no, no. 
Men. If, by the tribunes' leave, and yours, 
good people, 
I may be heard, I 'd crave a word or two ; 
The which shall turn you to no further 

harm 
Than so much loss of time. 

Sic. Speak briefly then ; 

For we are peremptory to despatch 
This viperous traitor: to eject him hence 
Were but our danger, and to keep him here 
Our certain death : therefore it is decreed 
He dies to-night. 
290 Men. Now the good gods forbid 

That our renowned Rome, whose gratitude 
Towards her deserved children is enroll'd 
In Jove's own book, like an unnatural dam 
Should now eat up her own ! 

Sic. He 's a disease that must be cut 

away. 
Men. Oh, he 's a limb that has but a dis- 
ease; 
Mortal, to cut it off ; to cure it, easy. 
What has he done to Rome that's worthy 
death ? 



SC. I.] CORIOLANUS. 93 

Killing our enemies, the blood be hath 

lost — 
Which, I dare vouch, is more than that he 

hath, 300 

By many an ounce — he dropp'd it for his 

country ; 
And what is left, to lose it by his country, 
Were to us all that do 't and surfer it 
A brand to th' end o' the world. 

Sic. This is clean kam. 

Bru. Merely awry : when he did love his 
country, 
It honor'd him. 

Men. The service of the foot 

Being once gangren'd is not then respected 
For what before it was. 

Bru. We '11 hear no more. 

Pursue him to his house, and pluck him 

thence; 
Lest his infection, being of catching nature, 310 
Spread further. 

Men. One word more, one word. 

This tiger-footed rage, when it shall find 
The harm of unscann'd swiftness, will too 

late 
Tie leaden pounds to 's heels. Proceed by 

process ; 
Lest parties, as he is belov'd, break out, 
And sack great Rome with Romans. 

Bru. If it were so, — 

Sic. What do ye talk ? 
Have we not had a taste of his obedience ? 



94 CORIOLANUS. [act nrj 

Gur aediles smote ? Ourselves resisted ?• 
Come. 
Men. Consider this : he has been bred i' 
320 the wars 

Since he could draw a sword, and is ill— 

school'd 
In bolted language ; meal and bran together 
He throws without distinction. Give me 

leave, 
I'll go to him, and undertake to bring him 
Where he shall answer, by a lawful form, 
In peace, to 's utmost peril. 

First Sen. . Noble tribunes, 

It is the humane way: the other course 
Will prove too bloody, and the end of it 
Unknown to the beginning. 

Sic. Noble Menenius, 

330 Be you then as the people's officer. 
Masters, lay down your weapons. 
Bru. Go not home. 

Sic. Meet on the market-place. We 'II 
attend you there : 
Where, if you bring not Marcius, we'll pro- 
ceed 
In our first way. 

Me?i. I'll bring him to you. 

[To the Senator s\ Let me desire your com- 
pany: he must come, 
Or what is worst will follow. 

First Sen. Pray you, let 's to him. 

[Exeunt, 



sc. II.] CORIOLANUS. g$ 

Scene II. A room in Coriolanus s house. 
Enter Coriolanus with Patricians. 

Cor. Let them pull all about mine ears, 
present me 
Death on the wheel or at wild horses' heels, 
Or pile ten hills on the Tarpeian rock 
That the precipitation might down stretch 
Below the beam of sight, yet will I still 
Be thus to them. 

A Patrician. You do the nobler. 

Cor. I muse my mother 
Does not approve me further, who was wont 
To call them woollen vassals, things created 
To buy and sell with groats, to show bare 

heads io> 

In congregations, to yawn, be still and 

wonder, 
When one but of my ordinance stood up 
To speak of peace or war. 

Enter Volumnia. 

I talk of you : 
Why did you wish me milder ? would you 

have me 
False to my nature ? Rather say I play 
The man I am. 

Vol. O, sir, sir, sir, 

I would have had you put your power well 

on 
Before you had worn it out. 

Cor. Let go. 



96 CORIOLANUS. [act hi. 

Vol. You might have been enough the 
man you are 
20 With striving less to be so : lesser had been 
The thwartings of your dispositions if 
You had not show'd them how you were 

dispos'd 
Ere they lack'd power to cross you. 

Cor. Let them hang. 

Vol. Ay, and burn too. 

Enter Menenius and Senators. 

Men. Come, come, you have been too 
rough, something too rough ; 
You must return and mend it. 

First Sen. There 's no remedy ; 

Unless, by not so doing, our good city 
Cleave in the midst and perish. 

Vol. Pray, be counsel'd : 

I have a heart as little apt as yours, 
30 But yet a brain that leads my use of anger 
To better vantage. 

Men. Well said, noble woman ! 

Before he should thus stoop to th' herd, but 

that 
The violent fit o' th' time craves it as physic 
For the whole state, I 'd put mine armor on, 
Which I can scarcely bear. 

Cor. What must I do ? 

Men. Return to the tribunes. 

Cor. Well, what then ? what then ? 

Me7i. Repent what you have spoke. 

Cor. For them ! I cannot do it to the gods ; 
Must I then do 't to them ? 



sc. ii.] C0R10LANUS. 97 

Vol. You are too absolute ; 

Though therein you can never be too noble 40 
But when extremities speak. I 've heard 

you say, 
Honor and policy, like unsever'd friends, 
I' the war do grow together : grant that, 

and tell me, 
In peace what each of them by the other 

lose, 
That they combine not there. 
Cor. Tush, tush ! 

Men. A good demand. 

Vol. If it be honor in your wars to seem 
The same you are not, — which for your best 

ends 
You adopt your policy, — how is it less or 

worse 
That it shall hold companionship in peace 
"With honor, as in war, since that to both 50 
It stands in like request ? 

Cor. Why force you this ? 

Vol. Because that now it lies you on to 

speak 
To th' people ; not by your own instruc- 
tion 
Nor by the matter which your own heart 

prompts you 
But with such words that are but roted in 
Your tongue, thought's bastards, and but 

syllables 
Of no allowance to your bosom's truth. 
Now this no more dishonors you at all 
Than to take in a town with gentle words, 



9 8 CORIOLANUS. [act in. 

Which else would put you to your fortune 
60 and 

The hazard of much blood. 
I would dissemble with my nature where 
My fortunes and my friends at stake required 
I should do so in honor : I am, in this, 
Your wife, your son, these senators, the 

nobles ; 
And you will rather show our general louts 
How you can frown than spend a fawn upon, 

'em 
For the inheritance of their loves and safe- 
guard 
Of what that want might ruin. 

Men. Noble lady ! 

Come, go with us; speak fair: you may 
70 salve so 

Not what is dangerous present but the loss 
Of what is past. 

Vol. I prithee now, my son, 

Go to them with this bonnet in thy hand ; 
And thus far having stretch'd it — here be 

with them — 
Thy knee bussing the stones — for in such 

business 
Action is eloquence, and the eyes of the 

ignorant 
More learned than the ears — waving thy 

head, 
Which often, thus, correcting thy stout heart, 
Bow, humble as the ripest mulberr) r 
That will not hold the handling, — say to 
80 them 



SC. II.] CORIOLANUS. 99 

Thou art their soldier, and being bred in?, 
broils 

Hast not the soft way which, thou dost con- 
fess, 

Were fit for thee to use as they to claim 

In asking their good loves, but thou wilt 
frame 

Thyself, forsooth, hereafter theirs so far 

As thou hast power and person. 
Men. This but done,. 

Even as she speaks it, why, their hearts 
were yours ; 

For they have pardons, being ask'd, as free 

As words to little purpose. 

Vol. Prithee now, 

Go, and be ruled : although I know thou 'dst 

rather 90 

Follow thine enemy in a fiery gulf 

Than flatter him in a bower. Here is 
Cominius. 

Enter Cominius. 

Com. I 've been i' the market-place ; and,, 
sir, 't is fit 
You make strong party, or defend yourself 
By calmness or by absence : all 's in anger. 

Men. Only fair speech. 

Com. I think 't will serve if he- 

Can- thereto frame his spirit. 

Vol. He must and will. 

Prithee now, say you will, and go about it. 

Cor. Must I go show them my unbarbed 
sconce ? 



ioo CORIOLANUS. [act hi. 

Must I with base tongue give my noble 
ioo heart 

A lie that it must bear? Well, I will do 't : 
Yet, were there but this single plot to lose, 
This mould of Marcius, they to dust should 

grind it 
And throw 't against the wind. To th' 

market-place ! 
You Ve put me now to such a part which 

never 
I shall discharge to th' life. 

C0771. Come, come, we '11 prompt you. 
Vol. I prithee now, sweet son, as thou hast 

said 
My praises made thee first a soldier, so, 
To have my praise for this, perform a part 
Thou hast not done before, 
no Cor. Well, I must do 't : 

Away, my disposition, and possess me 
Some harlot's spirit ! my throat of war be 

turn'd, 
Which quired with my drum, into a pipe 
Small as an eunuch's, or the virgin voice 
That babies lulls asleep ! the smiles of 

knaves 
Tent in my cheeks, and schoolboys' tears 

take up 
The glasses of my sight ! a beggar's tongue 
Make motion through my lips, and my 

arm'd knees, 
Who bow'd but in my stirrup, bend like his 
1 20 That hath receiv'd an alms ! I will not do 't, 
Lest I surcease to honor mine own truth, 



SC II.] CORIOLANUS. 101 

And by my body's action teach my mind 
A most inherent baseness. 

Vol. At thy choice, then : 

To beg of thee, it is my more dishonor 
Than thou of them. Come all to ruin ; let 
Thy mother rather feel thy pride than 

fear 
Thy dangerous stoutness, for I mock at 

death 
With as big heart as thou. Do as thou 

list. 
Thy valiantness was mine, thou suck'dst 

it from me, 
But ow'st thy pride thyself. 

Cor. Pray, be content: 130 

Mother, I 'm going to the market-place ; 
Chide me no more. I '11 mountebank their 

loves, 
Cog their hearts from them, and come home 

belov'd 
Of all the trades in Rome. Look, I am 

going: 
Commend me to my wife. I '11 return 

consul, 
Or never trust to what my tongue can do 
I' the way of flattery further. 

Vol. Do your will. 

{Exit. 
C0711. Away ! the tribunes do attend you : 

arm yourself 
To answer mildly ; for they are prepar'd 
With accusations, as I hear, more strong 140 
Than are upon you yet. 



102 ' COKIOLANUS. [act hi. 

Cor. The word is "mildly." Pray you, let 
us go : 
Let them accuse me by invention, I 
Will answer in mine honor. 

Men. Ay, but mildly. 

Cor. Well, mildly be it then. Mildly. 

{Exeunt. 



SCENE III. The same. The Fontm. 

Enter Sicinius and Brutus. 

Bru. In this point charge him home, that 
he affects 
Tyrannical power: if he evade us there, 
Enforce him with his envy to the people, 
And that the spoil got on the Antiates 
Was ne'er distributed. 

Enter an ^dile. 

What, will he come ? 

JEd. He is coming. 

Bru. How accompanied ? 

JEd. With old Menenius, and those 
senators 
That always favor'd him. 

Sic. Have you a catalogue 

Of all the voices that we have procur'd 
Set down by the poll ? 
10 jEd. I have ; 't is ready here. 

Sic. Have you collected them by tribes? 

JEd. I have. 

Sic. Assemble presently the people hither; 



sc. in.] CORIOLANUS. 103 

And, when they hear me say, " It shall be so 
V the right and strength o' the commons," 

be it either . 
For death, for fine, or banishment, then let 

them, 
If I say fine, cry " Fine ; " if death, cry 

"Death." 
Insisting on the old prerogative 
And power i' the truth o' the cause. 

JEd. I shall inform them. 

Bru. And when such time they have be- 
gun to cry, 
Let them not cease, but with a din confus'd 20 
Enforce the present execution 
Of what we chance to sentence. 

JEd. Very well. 

Sic. Make them be strong and ready for 
this hint, 
When we shall hap to give 't them. 

Bru. Go about it. [Exit JEdile. 

Put him to choler straight : he hath been 

us'd 
Ever to conquer, and to have his worth 
Of contradiction : being once chaf'd, he 

cannot 
Be rein'd again to temperance ; then he 

speaks 
What 's in his heart ; and that is there 

which looks 
With us to break his neck. 

Sic. Well, here he comes. 30 

Enter Coriolanus, Menenius, and Co 
. minius, with Senators and Patricians. 



104 CORIOLANUS. [act hi. 

Men. Calmly, I do beseech you. 
Cor. Ay, as an ostler, that for th' poorest 
piece 
Will bear the knave by the volume. The 

honor'd gods 
Keep Rome in safety, and the chairs of 

justice 
Supplied with worthy men ! plant love 

among 's ! 
Throng our large temples with the shows 

of peace, 
And not our streets with war ! 

First Sen. Amen, amen. 

Men. A noble wish. 

Re-enter JEdile, with Citizens. 

Sic. Draw near, ye people. 

JEd. List to your tribunes. Audience! 
40 peace, I say ! 

Cor. First, hear me speak, 

Both Tri. Weil, say. Peace, ho ! 

Cor. Shall I be charg'd no further than 
this present ? 
Must all determine here ? 

Sic. I do demand 

If you submit you to the people's voices, 
Allow their officers, and are content 
To suffer lawful censure for such faults 
As shall be prov'd upon you ? 

Cor. I am content. 

Men. Lo, citizens, he says he is content : 
The warlike service he has done, consider; 



SC. III.] CORIOLANUS. 105 • 

Think on the wounds his body bears, which 

show 50 

Like graves i' the holy churchyard. 

Cor. Scratches with briars, 

Scars to move laughter only. 

Men. Consider, further, 

That when he speaks not like a citizen, 
You find him like a soldier: do not take 
His rougher accents for malicious sounds, 
But, as I say, such as become a soldier, 
Rather than envy you. 

Co?n. Well, well, no more. 

Cor. What is the matter 
That, being pass'd for consul with full voice, 
I 'm so dishonor'd that the very hour 60 

You take it off again ? 

Sic. Answer to us, 

Cor. Say, then : 't is true, I ought so. 

Sic. We charge you that you have con- 
triv'd to take 
From Rome all season'd office and to wind 
Yourself into a power tyrannical ; 
For which you are a traitor to the people. 

Cor. How! traitor [ 

Men. Nay, temperately ; your promise. 

Cor. The fires i' the lowest hell fold-in 
the people I 
Call me their traitor ! Thou injurious tribune! 
Within thine eyes sat twenty thousand 

deaths, 70 

In thy hands clutch'd as many millions, in 
Thy lying tongue both numbers, I would 
say 



106 CORIOLANUS. [act in. 

" Thou liest " unto thee with a voice as free 
As I do pray the gods. 

Sic. Mark you this, people ? 

Citizens. To the rock, to the rock with 

him ! 
Sic. Peace ! 

We need not put new matter to his charge : 
What you have seen him do and heard him 

speak, 
Beating your officers, cursing yourselves, 
Opposing laws with strokes, and here de- 
fying 
Those whose great power must try him ; 
80 even this, 

So criminal and in such capital kind, 
Deserves th' extremest death. 

Bru. But since he hath 

Serv'd well for Rome, — 

Cor. What do you prate of service ? 

. Bru I talk of that that know it. 
Cor. You ? 
Men. Is this the promise that you made 

your mother ? 
Co7?i. Know, I pray you. — 
Cor. I'll know no further : 

Let them pronounce the steep Tarpeian 

death, 
Vagabond exile, flaying, pent to linger 
90 But with a grain a day, I would not buy 
Their mercy at the price of one fair word ; 
Nor check my courage for what they can 

give, 
To have 't with saying, " Good morrow." 



sc. in ] CORIOLANUS. 107 

Sic. For that he has, 

As much as in him lies, from time to time 
Envied against the people, seeking means 
To pluck away their power, as now at last 
Given hostile strokes, and that not in the 

presence 
Of dreaded justice, but on the ministers 
That do distribute it ; in the name o' the 

people 
And in the power of us the tribunes, we, 100 
Even from this instant, banish him our city, 
In peril of precipitation 
From off the rock Tarpeian, never more 
To enter our Rome gates.; i' the people's 

name, 
I say it shall be so. 

Citizens. It shall be so, it shall be so ; let 

him away : 
He 's banish'd and it shall be so. 

Com. Hear me, my masters, and my 

common friends, — 
Sic. He's sentenc'd ; no more hearing. 
Com. Let me speak : 

I have been consul, and can show for Rome no 
Her enemies' marks upon me. I do love 
My country's good with a respect more 

tender, 
More holy and profound, than mine own 

life, 
My dear wife's estimate, her womb's in- 
crease, 
And treasure of my loins ; then if I would 
Speak that, — 



108 CORIOLANUS. [act hi. 

Sic. We know your drift : speak what ? 
Bru. There's no more to be said, but he 
is banish'd, 
As enemy to the people and his country : 
It shall be so. 

Citizens. It shall be so, it shall be so. 
Cor. You common cry of curs! whose 
1 20 breath I hate 

As reek o' the rotten fens, whose loves I 

prize 
As the dead carcasses of unburied men 
That do corrupt my air, I banish you ; 
And here remain with your uncertainty! 
Let every feeble rumor shake your hearts ! 
Your enemies, with nodding of their plumes, 
Fan you into despair ! Have the power still 
To banish your defenders ; till at length 
Your ignorance, which finds not till it feels, 
130 Making but reservation of yourselves, 
Still your own foes, deliver you as most 
Abated captives to some nation 
That won you without blows ! Despising 

then, 
For you, the city, thus I turn my back : 
There is a world elsewhere. 

Exeunt Coriolanus, Cominius, Menenius, 

Senators, and Patricians. 

jEd. The people's v.nemy is gone, is gone ! 

Citizens. Our enemy is banish'd ! he is 

gone ! Hoo ! hoo ! 

[Shouting, and throwing up their caps. 

Sic. Go, see him out at gates, and follow 

him, 



sc. i.] CORIOLANUS. 109 

As he hath follow'd you, with all despite; 
Give him deserv'd vexation. Let a guard 
Attend us through the city. 

Citizens. Come, come ; let's see him out 

at gates ; come. 
The gods preserve our noble tribunes ! 

Come. {Exeunt. 



ACT IV. 



SCENE I. Rome. Before a gate of the city. 

Enter Coriolanus, Volumnia, Virgilia, 
Menenius, .Cominius, with the young 
Nobility of Rome. 

Cor. Come, leave your tears : a brief 

farewell : the beast 
With many heads butts me away. Nay, 

mother, 
Where is your ancient courage? you were 

us'd 
To say extremity was the trier of spirits ; 
That common chances common men could 

bear ; 
That when the sea was calm all boats alike 
Show'd mastership in floating ; fortune's 

blows, 
When most struck home, being gentle, 

wounded, craves 



no CORIOLANUS. [act iv. 

A noble cunning : you were us'd to load me 
10 With precepts that would make invincible 
The heart that conn'd them. 
Vir. O heavens ! O heavens ! 
Cor. Nay, I prithee, woman, — 

Vol. Now the red pestilence strike all 
trades in Rome, 
And occupations perish ! 

Cor. What, what, what ! 

I shall be lov'd when I am lack'd. Nay, 

mother, 
Resume that spirit, when you were wont to 

say, 
If you had been the wife of Hercules, 
Six of his labors you 'd have done, and saved 
Your husband so much sweat. Cominius, 
Droop not ; adieu. Farewell, my wife, my 
20 mother : 

I'll do well yet. Thou old and true Mene- 

nius, 
Thy tears are Salter than a younger man's, 
And venomous to thine eyes. My some- 
time general, 
I 've seen thee stern, and thou hast oft be- 
held 
Heart-hardening spectacles ; tell these sad 

women 
'T is fond to wail inevitable strokes 
As 't is to laugh at 'em. My mother, you 

wot well 
My hazards still have been your solace ; and 
Believe 't not lightly — though 1 go alone, 
30 Like to a lonely dragon, that his fen 



sc. I.] CORIOLANUS. in 

Makes fear'd and talk'd of more than seen — 

your son 
Will or exceed the common or be caught 
With cautelous baits and practice. 

Vol. My first son. 

Whither wilt thou go ? Take good Comin- 

ius 
With thee awhile : determine on some 

course, 
More than a wild exposture to each chance 
That starts i' the way before thee. 

Cor. O the gods ! 

Com. I '11 follow thee a month, devise with 

thee 
Where thou shalt rest, that thou mayst hear 

of us 
And we of thee : so, if the time thrust forth 40 
A cause for thy repeal, we shall not send 
O'er the vast world to seek a single man, 
And lose advantage, which doth ever cool 
I' the absence of the needer. 

Cor. Fare ye well : 

Thou 'st years upon thee ; and thou art 

too full 
Of the wars' surfeits to go rove with one 
That's yet unbruis'd : bring me but out at 

gate. 
Come, my sweet wife, my dearest mother, 

and 
My friends of noble touch, when I am forth, 
Bid me farewell and smile. . I pray you, 

come. 50 

While I remain above the ground, you shall 



U2 CO R I OLA N US. [act iv. 

Hear from me still, and never of me aught 
But what is like me formerly. 

Men. That's worthily 

As any ear can hear. Come, let's not weep. 
If I could shake oft" but one seven years 
From these old arms and legs, by the good 

gods, 
I 'd with thee every foot. 

Cor. Give me thy hand : 

Come. [Exeunt. 



Scene II. The same. A street 7iear the gate. 
Enter Sicinius, Brutus, and an yEdile. 

Sic. Bid them all home ; he's gone, and 
we '11 no further. 
The nobility are vex'd, whom we see have 

sided 
In his behalf. 

Bru. Now we have shown our power, 

Let us seem humbler after it is done 
Than when it was a-doing. 

Sic. Bid them home ; 

Say their great enemy is gone, and they 
Stand in their ancient strength, 

Bru. Dismiss them home. [Exit JEdile. 
Here comes his mother. 

Sic. Let 's not meet her. 

Bru. Why ? 

Sic. They say she 's mad. 

Bru. They have ta'en note of us : keep 
10 on your way. 



sc. II.] CORIOLANUS. 113 

Enter Volumnia, Virgilia, and Mene- 

NIUS. 

Vol. Oh, ye 're well met : the hoarded 
plagues o' the gods 
Requite your love ! 

Men. Peace, peace ; be not so loud. 

Vol. If that I could for weeping, you 
should hear, — 
Nay, and you shall hear some. [To Brutus\ 
Will you be gone ? 
Vir. [To Sicinius] You shall stay too: I 
would I had the power 
To say so to my husband. 

Sic. Are you mankind ? 

Vol. Ay, fool ; is that a shame ? Note 
but this fool. 
Was not a man my father ? Hadst thou 

foxship 
To banish him that struck more blows for 

Rome 
Than thou hast spoken words ? 

Sic. O blessed heavens ! 20 

Vol. More noble blows than ever thou 
wise words ; 
And for Rome's good. I '11 tell thee what ; 

yet go : 
Nay, but thou shalt stay too : I would my 

son 
Were in Arabia, and thy tribe before him, 
His good sword in his hand. 
Sic. What then ? 

Vol. What then ! 

He 'd make an end of thy posterity, 



114 CORIOLANUS. [act iv. 

Bastards and all. Good man, the wounds 

that he 
Does bear for Rome ! 
Men. Come, come, peace. 
Sic. I would he had continu'd to his 
30 country 

As he began, and not unknit himself 
The noble knot he made. 

Bru. I would he had. 

Vol. " I would he had "! 'T was you in- 
cens'd the rabble : 
Cats, that can judge as fitly of his worth 
As I can of those mysteries which heaven 
Will not have earth to know. 

Bru. Pray, let us go. 

Vol. Now, pray, sir, get you gone : 
You have done a brave deed. Ere you go, 

hear this : — 
As far as doth the Capitol exceed 
40 The meanest house in Rome so far my son — 
This lady's husband here, this, do you see — 
Whom you have banish'd, does exceed you 
all. 
Bru. Well, well, we '11 leave you. 
Sic. Why stay we to be baited 

With one that wants her wits ? 

Vol. Take my prayers with you. 

[Exeunt Tribunes. 
I would the gods had nothing else to do 
But to confirm my curses ! Could I meet 

'em 
But once a-day, it would unclog my heart 
Of what lies heavy to 't. 



sc. in.] CORIOLANUS. 115. 

Men. You have told them home ; 

And, by my troth, you 've cause. You '11 
sup with me ? 
Vol. Anger's my meat; I sup upon my- 
self, 50 
And so shall starve with feeding. Come, 

let 's go: 
Leave this faint puling, and lament as I do, 
In anger, Juno-like. Come, come, come. 
Men. Fie, fie, fie ! {Exeunt. 



Scene III. A highway between Rome and. 
Antium. 

Enter a Roman and a Volsce, meeting. 

Rom. I know you well, sir, and you know 
me: your name, I think, is Adrian. 

Vols. It is so, sir : truly, I have forgot you. 

Rom. I am a Roman ; and my services 
are, as you are, against 'em: know you 
me yet ? 

Vols. Nicanor ? no. 

Rom. The same, sir. 

Vols. You had more beard when I last 
saw you ; but your favor is well appear'd by 
your tongue. What 's the news in Rome > 
I have a note from the Volscian state, to find 
you out there : you have well sav'd me a 
day's journey. ir 

Rom. There hath been in Rome strange 
insurrections ; the people against the sena- 
tors, patricians, and nobles. 



n6 CORIOLANUS. [act iv. 

Vols. "Hath been"! is it ended, then ? 
Our state thinks not so : they are in a most 
warlike preparation, and hope to come upon 
them in the heat of their division. 

Rom. The main blaze of it is past, but a 
small thing would make it flame again : for 
the nobles receive so to heart the banish- 
ment of that worthy Coriolanus that they 
are in a ripe aptness to take all power from 
the people and to pluck from them their 
tribunes forever. This lies glowing, I can 
tell you, and is almost mature for the violent 
breaking out. 
23 Vols. Coriolanus banished ! 

Rom. Banished, sir. 

Vols. You will be welcome with this in- 
telligence, Nicanor. 

Rom. The day serves well for them now. 
I have heard it said, the fittest time to cor- 
rupt a man's wife is when she 's fallen out 
with her husband. Your noble Tullus Au- 
fidius will appear well in these wars, his 
great opposer, Coriolanus, being now in no 
30 request of his country. 

Vols. He cannot choose. I am most 
fortunate thus accidentally to encounter 
you : you will have ended my business, and I 
will merrily accompany you home. 

Rom. I shall, between this and supper, 
tell you most strange things from Rome, all 
tending to the good of their adversaries. 
Have you an army ready, say you ? 

Vols. A most royal one; the centurions 



sc. iv.] CORIOLANUS. 117 

and their charges, distinctly billeted, al- 
ready in the entertainment, and to be on 
foot at an hour's warning. 39 

Rom. I am joyful to hear of their readi- 
ness, and am the man, I think, that shall 
set them in present action. So, sir, heartily 
well met, and most glad of your company. 

Vols. You take my part from me, sir ; I 
have the most cause to be glad of yours. 

Rom. Well, let us go together. {Exeunt. 



Scene IV. Antium. Before Aufidiuss 
house. 

Enter CORIOLANUS in mean apparel, dis- 
guised and muffled. 

Cor. A goodly city is this Antium. City, 
T is I that made thy widows: many an 

heir 
Of these fair edifices 'fore my wars 
Have I heard groan and drop : then know 

me not, 
Lest that thy wives with spits and boys with 

stones 
In puny battle slay me. 

Enter a Citizen. 

Save you, sir. 
Cit. And you. 

Cor. Direct me, if it be your will, 

Where great Aufidius lies : is he in An- 
tium ? 



ii 8 CORIOLANUS. [act iv. 

Cif. He is, and feasts the nobles of the 
state 
At his house this night. 
10 Cor. Which is his house, beseech you ? 
Cit. This, here before you. 
Cor. Thank you, sir : farewell. 

{Exit Citizen. 

world, thy slippery turns ! Friends now 

fast sworn, 
Whose double bosoms seem to wear one 

heart, 
Whose house, whose bed, whose meal, and 

exercise 
Are still together, who twin, as 't were, in 

love 
Inseparable, shall within this hour, 
On a dissension of a doit, break out 
To bitterest enmity : so, fellest foes, 
Whose passions and whose plots have broke 

their sleep 
20 To take the one the other, by some chance, 
Some trick not worth an egg, shall grow 

dear friends 
And interjoin their issues. So with me : 
My birth-place hate I, and my love 's upon 
This enemy town. I'll enter : if he slay me, 
He does fair justice ; if he give me way, 

1 '11 do his country service. [Exit. 



sc. v.] CORIOLANUS. 119 



SCENE V. The same. A hall in Anfidiuss 



Music within. Enter a Servingman. 

First Serv. Wine, wine, wine ! What 
service is here ! I think our fellows are 
asleep. [Exit. 

Enter a second Servingman. 

Sec. Serv. Where 's Cotus ? my master 
calls for him. Cotus ! 

Enter CORIOLANUS. 

Cor. A goodly house : the feast smells 
well ; but I 
Appear not like a guest. 

Re-enter the first Servingman. 

First Serv. What would you have, friend ? 
whence are you ? Here 's no place for you : 
pray go to the door. [Exit. 

Cor. I have deserved no better entertain- 
ment, 
In being Coriolanus. 10 

Re-enter second Servingman. 

Sec Serv. Whence are you, sir? Has the 
porter his eyes in his head, that he gives 
entrance to such companions ? Pray, get 
you out. 

Cor. Away! 

Sec. Serv. Away ! get you away. 



120 C0R10LANUS. [act iv. 

Cor. Now thou 'rt troublesome. 
Sec. Serv. Are you so brave? I'll have 
you talk'd with anon. 

Enter a third Servingman. The first meets 
him. 

Third Serv. What fellow 's this ? 

First Serv. A strange one as ever I 
look'd on : I cannot get him out o' the 
21 house : prithee, call my master to him. 

{Retires. 

Third Serv. What have you to do here, 
fellow ? Pray you, avoid the house. 

Cor. Let me but stand ; I will not hurt 
your hearth. 

Third Serv. What are you ? 

Cor. A gentleman. 

Third Serv. A marvelous poor one. 

Cor. True, so I am. 

Third Serv. Pray you, poor gentleman, 
take up some other station ; here's no place 
30 for you ; pray you, avoid : come. 

Cor. Follow your function, go, and bat- 
ten on cold bits. {Pushes him away. 

Third Serv. What, you will not ? Prithee, 
tell my master what a strange guest he has 
here. 

Sec. Serv. And I shall. {Exit. 

Third Serv. Where dwellest thou ? 

Cor. Under the canopy. 

Third Serv. Under the canopy ! 

Cor. Ay. 

Third Serv. Where's that ? 



sc. v.] COATOLAXUS. 121 

Cor. I' the city of kites and crows. 

Third Serif. V the city of kites and 
crows ! What an ass it is ! Then thou 
dwellest with daws too ? 4° 

Cor. No, I serve not thy master. 

Third Serv. How, sir! do you meddle 
with my master ? 

Cor. Thou pratest, and pratest ; serve 
with thy trencher, hence ! 
[Beats him away. Exit third Serving-man, 

Enter Aufidius with the second Serving- 
man. 

Auf. Where is this fellow ? 

Sec. Serv. Here, sir : I 'd have beaten him 

like a dog, but for disturbing the lords 

within. [Retires. 

Auf. Whence comest thou ? whatwouldst 

thou ? thy name ? 

Why speak'st not? speak, man : what 's thy 

name ? 50 

Cor. If, Tullus, [Unmuffling. 

Not yet thou knowest me, and, seeing me, 

dost not 
Think me the man I am, necessity 
Commands me name myself. 

Auf. What is thy name ? 

Cor. A name unmusical to the Volscians' 
ears, 
And harsh in sound to thine. 

Auf. Say, what 's thy name ? 

Thou hast a grim appearance, and thy face 



122 CORIOLANUS. [act iv. 

Bears a command in 't ; though thy tackle 's 

torn, 
Thou show'st a noble vessel : what 's thy 

name ? 
Cor. Prepare thy brow to frown : know'st 
thou me yet ? 
6 1 Anf. I know thee not : thy name ? 

Cor. My name is Caius Marcius, who hath 

done 
To thee particularly and to all the Volsces 
Great hurt and mischief ; thereto witness 

may 
My surname, Coriolanus. The painful 

service, 
The extreme dangers, and the drops of 

blood 
Shed for my thankless country are requited 
But with that surname; a good memory 
And witness of the malice and displeasure 
Which thou shouldst bear me. Only that 
7i name remains ; 

The cruelty and envy of the people, 
Permitted by our bastard nobles, who 
Have all forsook me, hath devour'd the rest ? 
And suffer'd me by the voice of slaves to be 
Whoop'd out of Rome. Now this extremity 
Hath brought me to thy hearth ; not out of 

hope — 
Mistake me not — to save my life ; for, if 
I had fear'd death, of all the men i' the 

world 
I would have 'voided thee ; but in mere 

spite, 



sc. v.] CORIOLANUS, 123 

To be full quit of those my banishers, 80 

Stand I before thee here. Then if thou hast 
A heart of wreak in thee that wilt revenge 
Thine own particular wrongs and stop those 

maims 
Of shame seen through thy country, speed 

thee straight, 
And make my misery serve thy turn : so 

use it 
That my revengeful services may prove 
As benefits to thee, for I will fight 
Against mycanker'd country with the spleen 
Of all the under fiends. But, if so be 
Thou dar'st not this, and that to prove more 

fortunes 90 

Thou -rt tir'd, then in a word I also am 
Longer to live most weary, and present 
My throat to thee and to thy ancient malice ; 
Which not to cut would show thee but a 

fool, 
Since I have ever follow'd thee with hate, 
Drawn tuns of blood out of thy country's 

breast, 
And cannot live but to thy shame, unless 
It be to do thee service.. 

Aitf. O Marcius, Marcius ! 

Each word thou 'st spoke hath weeded 

from my heart 
A root of ancient envy. If Jupiter 100 

Should from yond cloud speak to me divine 

things, 
And say, " T is true " I 'd not believe them 
more 



124 CORIOLANUS. [act iv. 

Than thee, all-noble Marcius. Let me twine 
Mine arms about that body, where against 
My grained ash an hundred times hath 

broke, 
And scarr'd the moon with splinters : here 

I clip 
The anvil of my sword, and do contest 
As hotly and as nobly with thy love 
As ever in ambitious strength I did 
Contend against thy valor. Know, thou 
no first, 

I lov'd the maid I married ; never man 
Sigh'd truer breath ; but that I see thee 

here, 
Thou noble thing ! more dances my rapt 

heart 
Than when I first my wedded mistress saw 
Bestride my threshold. Why, thou Mars ! 

I tell thee 
We have a power on foot ; and I had purpose 
Once more to hew thy target from thy 

brawn, 
Or lose mine arm for 't : thou bast beat me 

out 
Twelve several times, and I have nightly 

since 
1 20 Dreamt of encounters 'twixt thyself and me ; 
We have been down together in my sleep, 
Unbuckling helms, fisting each other's 

throat, 
And w r ak'd half dead with nothing. Worthy 

Marcius, 
Had we no quarrel else to Rome but that 



sc. v.] COR 10 LAN US. 125 

Thou art thence banish'd, we would muster 

all 
From twelve to seventy, and, pouring war 
Into the bowels of ungrateful Rome, 
Like a bold flood o'er-bear. Oh, come, 

go in, 
And take our friendly senators by th' hands ; 
Wiio now are here, taking their leaves of 

me, 130 

Who am prepar'd against your territories, 
Though not for Rome itself. 

Cor. You bless me, gods ! 

Auf. Therefore, most absolute sir, it thou 

wilt have 
The leading of thine own revenges, take 
The one-half of my commission; and set 

down — 
As best thou art experienc'd, since thou 

know'st 
Thy country's strength and weakness, — 

thine own ways ; 
Whether to knock against the gates of 

Rome, 
Or rudely visit them in parts remote 
To fright them ere destroy. But come thou 

in : 140 

Let me commend thee first to those that 

shall 
Say yea to thy desires. A thousand wel- 
comes ! 
And more a friend than e'er an enemy ; 
Yet, Marcius, that was much. Your hand : 

most welcome! 



126 CORIOLANUS. [act iv. 

[Exeunt Coriolanus and Aicfidius. The 
two Servingnien come forward. 

First Serv. Here 's a strange alteration ! 

Sec. Serv. By my hand, I had thought to 
have strucken him with a cudgel ; and yet 
my mind gave me his clothes made a false 
report of him. 

First Serv. What an arm he has ! he 
turn'd me about with his finger and his 
150 thumb, as one would set up a top. 

Sec. Serv. Nay, I knew by his face that 
there was something in him : he had, sir, a 
kind of face, methought, — I cannot tell how 
to term it. 

First Serv. He had so ; looking as it 
were — would I were hang'd, but I thought 
there was more in him than I could think. 

Sec. Serv. So did I, I '11 be sworn : he is 
simply the rarest man i' the w r orid. 

First Serv. I think he is : but a greater 
160 soldier than he you wot on. 

Sec Serv. Who, my master ? 

First Serv. Nay, it 's no matter for that. 

Sec. Serv. Worth six on him. 

First Serv. Nay, not so neither : but I 
take him to be the greater soldier. 

Sec. Serv. Faith, look you, one cannot 
tell how to say that : for the defence of a 
town, our general is excellent. 

First Serv. Ay, and for an assault too. 

Re-eJiter third Servingman. 



sc. v.] CORIOLANUS. 127 

Third Serv. O slaves, I can tell you news, 
— news, you rascals ! I 7° 

First and Sec. Serv. What, what, what? 
let 's partake. 

Third Serv. I would not be a Roman, of 
all nations ; I had as lieve be a condemned 
man. 

First and Sec. Serv. Wherefore ? where- 
fore ? 

Third Serv. Why, here 's he that was 

wont to thwack our general, Caius Marcius. 

First Serv. Why do you say, " thwack our 

general" ? 
Third Serv. I do not say, " thwack our 
general " ; but he was always good enough 
for him. 

Sec. Serv. Come, we are fellows and 
friends: he was ever too hard for him ; I 
have heard him say so himself. 181 

First Serv. He was too hard for him di- 
rectly, to say the troth on 't : before Corioli 
he scotch'd him and notch'd him like a car- 
bonado. 

Sec. Serv. An he had been cannibally 
given, he might have broil'd and eaten him 
too. 

First Serv. But, more of thy news ? 
Third Serv. Why, he is so made on here 
within as if he were son and heir to Mars ; 
set at upper end o' the table ; no question 
asked him by any of the senators, but they 
stand bald before him; our general himself 190 
makes a mistress of him ; sanctifies himself 



128 CORIOLANUS. [act iv. 

with 's hand and turns up the white o' the 
eye to his discourse. But the bottom of the 
news is, our general is cut i' the middle and 
but one-half of what he was yesterday ; for 
the other has half, by the entreaty and grant 
of the whole table. He '11 go, he says, and 
sowl the porter of Rome gates by the ears : 
he will mow all down before him, and leave 
his passage poll'd. 

Sec. Serv. And he 's as like to do 't as any 
200 man I can imagine. 

Third Serv. Do 't ! he will do 't ; for, 
look you, sir, he has as many friends as ene- 
mies ; which friends, sir, as it were, durst 
not, look you, sir, show themselves, as we 
term it, his friends whilst he 's in -directi- 
tude. 

First Serv. " Directitude ! " what 's that ? 

Third Serv. But when they shall see, sir, 

his crest up again, and the man in blood, 

they will out of their burrows, like conies 

after rain, and revel all with him. 

209 First Serv. But when goes this forward ? 

Third Serv. To-morrow; to-day; pres- 
ently; you shall have the drum struck up 
this afternoon ; 't is, as it were, a parcel of 
their feast, and to be executed ere they 
wipe their lips. 

Sec. Serv. Why, then, we shall have a 
stirring world again. This peace is nothing 
but to rust iron, increase tailors, and breed 
ballad-makers. 

First Serv. Let me have war, say I ; it 



sc. vi.] CORIOLANUS. 129 

exceeds peace as far as day does night ; it 's 
sprightly walking, audible, and full of vent. 
Peace is a very apoplexy, a lethargy ; mulled, 
deaf, sleepy, insensible. Ay, and it makes 
men hate one another. 220 

Third Serv. Reason ; because they then 
less need one another. The wars for my 
money. I hope to see Romans as cheap as 
Volscians. They are rising, they are rising. 

All. In, in, in, in ! [Exeunt. 



SCENE VI. Rome. A public place. 
Enter Sicinius and Brutus. 

Sic. We hear not of him neither need we 

fear him ; 
His remedies are tame i' th' present peace 
And quietness of the people, which before 
Were in wild hurry. Here do we make his 

friends 
Blush that the world goes well, who rather 

had, 
Though they themselves did suffer by 't, be- 
hold 
Dissentious numbers pestering streets than 

see 
Our tradesmen singing in their shops and 

going 
About their functions friendly. 

Bru. We stood to 't in good time. [Enter 

Menenius.\ Is this Menenius ? 10 



130 CORIOLANUS. [act iv. 

Sic. 'T is he, 't is he : O, he is grown 
most kind 
Of late. Hail, sir ! 

Bru. Hail, sir ! 

Men. Hail to you both ! 

Sic. Your Coriolanus, sir, is not much 
miss'd 
But with his friends: the commonwealth 

doth stand, 
And so would do, were he more angry at it. 
Men. All 's well ; and might have been 
much better if 
He could have temporiz'd. 

Sic. Where is he, hear you ? 

Men. Nay, I hear nothing: his mother 
and his wife 
Hear nothing from him. 

Enter three or four Citizens. 

Citizens. The gods preserve you both ! 
20 Sic. God-den, our neighbors. 

Bru. God-den to you all, god-den to you 

all. 
First Cit, Ourselves, our wives, and chil- 
dren, on our knees, 
Are bound to pray for you both. 

Sic. Live and thrive! 

Bru. Farewell, kind neighbors: we wish'd 
Coriolanus 
Had lov'd you as we did. 

Citizens. Now the gods keep you ! 

Both Tri. Farewell, farewell. 

[Exeunt Citizens. 



sc. vi.] CORIOLANUS. 131 

Sic. This is a happier and more comely 
time 
Than when these fellows ran about the 

streets 
Crying confusion. 

Brti. Caius Marcius was 

A worthy officer i' the war; but insolent, 30 
O'ercome with pride, ambitious past all 

thinking, 
Self-loving, — 

Sic. And affecting one sole throne, 

Without assistance. 

Men. Nay, I think not so. 

Sic. We should by this, to all our lamen- 
tation, 
If he had gone forth consul, found it so. 
Bru. The gods have well prevented it, 
and Rome 
Sits safe and still without him. 

Enter an ^Edile. 

JEd. Worthy tribunes, 

There is a slave, whom we have put in 

prison, 
Reports the Volsces with two several powers 
Are enter'd in the Roman territories, 40 

And with the deepest malice of the war 
Destroy what lies before 'em. 

Men. 'T is Aufidius, 

Who, hearing of our Marcius' banishment, 
Thrusts forth his horns again into the world; 
Which were inshell'd when Marcius stood 

for Rome, 



132 CORIOLANUS. [act iv. 

And durst not once peep out. 

Sic. Come, what talk you 

Of Marcius ? 

Bru. Go see this rumorer whipp'd. 

It cannot be 
• The Volsces dare break with us. 

Men. Cannot be ! 

We have record that very well it can, 
5° And three examples of the like have been 
Within my age. But reason with the fellow, 
Before you punish him, where he heard this, 
Lest you shall chance to whip your informa- 
tion 
And beat the messenger who bids beware 
Of what is to be dreaded. 

Sic. Tell not me : 

I know this cannot be. 

Bru. Not possible. 

E7iter a Messenger. 

Mess. The nobles in great earnestness 
are going 
All to the senate-house : some news is come 
That turns their countenances. 

Sic. 'T is this slave ; — 

Go whip him 'fore the people's eyes: — his 
60 raising ; 

Nothing but his report. 

Mess. Yes, worthy sir, 

The slave's report is seconded ; and more, 
More fearful, is deliver'd. 

Sic. What more fearful ? 



sc. vi.] CORIOLANUS. 133 

Mess. It is spoke freely out of many 
mouths — 
How probable I do not know — that Marcius, 
Join*d with Aufidius, leads a power 'gainst 

Rome, 
And vows revenge as spacious as between 
The young'st and oldest thing, 

Sic This is most likely \ 

Bru. Raised only that the weaker sort 
may wish 
Good Marcius home again. 

Sic. The very trick on 't. 7° 

Men. This is unlikely : 
He and Aufidius can no more atone 
Than violentest contrariety, 

Enter a second Messenger. 

Sec. Mess. You are sent for to the senate : 
A fearful army, led by Caius Marcius 
Associated with Aufidius, rages 
Upon our territories ; and have already 
O'erborne their way, consum'd with fire, 

and took 
What lay before them. 

Enter Cominius. 

Com. Oh, you have made good work ! 
Men. What news? what news ? 80 

Com. You have holp to ravish your own 
daughters and 
To melt the city leads upon your pates, 
To see your wives dishonor'd to your 
noses, — 



134 CORIOLANUS. [act iv. 

Men. What's the news? what's the news? 
Com. Your temples burned in their 
cement, and 
Your franchises, whereon you stood, con- 

fin'd 
Into an auger's bore. 

Men. Pray now, your news ? 

You have made fair work, I fear me. — 

Pray, your news? — 

If Marcius should be join'd with Volscians, — 

Com. If! 

90 He is their god : he leads them like a thing 

Made by some other deity than nature, 

That shapes man better; and they follow 

him 
Against us brats with no less confidence 
Than boys pursuing summer butterflies 
Or butchers killing flies. 

Men. You 've made good work, 

You and your apron-men ; you that stood 

so much 
Upon the voice of occupation and 
The breath of garlic-eaters ! 

Com. He will shake 

Your Rome about your ears. 

Men. As Hercules 

Did shake down mellow fruit. You 've 
made fair work ! 
coo Bru. But is this true, sir ? 

Com. Ay ; and you '11 look pale 

Before you find it other. All the regions 
Do smilingly revolt ; and who resist 
Are mock'd for valiant ignorance, 



sc. vi.J C0R10LANUS. 135 

And perish constant fools. Who is 't can 

blame him ? 
Your enemies and his find something in him. 

Men. We are all undone, unless 
The noble man have mercy. 

Com. Who shall ask it ? 

The tribunes cannot do 't for shame ; the 

people 
Deserve such pity of him as the wolf no 

Does of the shepherds : for his best friends, 

if they 
Should say, " Be good to Rome," they 

charg'd him even 
As those should do that had deserv'd his 

hate, 
And therein show'd like enemies. 

Men. 'T is true : 

If he were putting to my house the brand 
That should consume it, I have not the face 
To say, " Beseech you, cease." You 've 

made fair hands, 
You and your crafts ! you 've crafted fair ! 

Com. You 've brought 

A trembling upon Rome, such as'was never 
So incapable of help. 

Both Tri. Say not we brought it. 120 

Men. How ! Was it we ? we lov'd him ; 
but, like beasts 
And cowardly nobles, gave way unto your 

clusters, 
Who did hoot him out o' the city. 

Com. But I fear 

They '11 roar him in again. Tullus Aufidius, 



136 CORIOLANUS [act iv. 

The second name of men, obeys nis points 
As if he were his officer : desperation 
Is all the policy, strength, and defence 
That Rome can make against them. 

Enter a troop of Citizens. 

Men. Here come the clusters. 

And is Aufidius with them ? You are thev 
That made the air unwholesome, when you 
130 cast 

Your stinking, greasy caps in hooting at 
Coriolanus' exile. Now he 'scorning; 
And not a hair upon a soldier's head 
Which will not prove a whip : as many cox- 
combs 
As you threw caps up will he tumble down, 
And pay you for 3'our voices. 'T is no 

matter ; 
If he could burn us all into one coal, 
We have deserv'd it. 

Citizens. Faith, we hear fearful news. 

First Cit. For mine own part, 

140 When I said, banish him, I said, *t was pity. 

Sec. Cit* And so did I. 

Third Cit. And so did I ; and, to say the 
truth, so did very many of us : that we did 
we did for the best ; and, though we will- 
ingly consented to his banishment, yet it 
was against our will. 

Coin. Ye 're goodly things, you voices ! 

Men. You have made 

Good work, you and your cry ! Shall 's to 
the Capitol ? 



sc. vii.] CORIOLANUS. 137 

Com. Oh, ay, what else ? 

[Exeunt Cominius and Menenius. 
Sic. Go, masters, get you home ; be not 
dismay'd : 
These are a side that would be glad to have 15° 
This true which they so seem to fear. Go 

home, 
And show no sign of fear. 

First Cit. The gods be good to us ! Come, 
masters, let 's home. I ever said we were 
i' the wrong when we banished him. 

Sec. Cit. So did we all. But,, come, let 's 
home. {Exeunt Citizens. 

Bru. I do not like this news. 
Sic. Nor I. 

Bru. Let 's to the Capitol. Would half 
my wealth 
Would buy this for a lie ! ' 

Sic. Pray, let us go. 160 

[Exeunt. 



SCENE VII. A camp, at a small distance 
from Rome. 

Enter Aufidius and his Lieutenant. 

Auf. Do they still fly to the Roman ? 
Lieu. I do not know what witchraft 's in 

him, but 
Your soldiers use him as the grace 'fore 

meat, 



138 CGR10LANUS. [act iv. 

Their talk at table, and their thanks at end ; 
And you are darken'd in this action, sir, 
Even by your own. 

Auf. I cannot help it now, 

Unless, by using means, I lame the foot 
Of our design. He bears himself more 

proudlier, 
E'en to my person, than I thought he would 
When first I did embrace him : yet his 
10 nature 

In that 's no changeling; and I must excuse 
What cannot be amended. 

Lieu. Yet I wish, sir, — 

I mean for your particular, — you had not 
Join'd in commission with him; but either 
Had borne the action of yourself, or else 
To him had left it solely. 

Auf. I understand thee well ; and be thou 

sure, 
When he shall come to his account, he 

knows not 
What I can urge against him. Although it 

seems, 
20 And so he thinks, and is no less apparent 
To the vulgar eye, that he bears all things 

fairly, 
And shows good husbandry for th' Volscian 

state, 
Fights dragon-like, and does achieve as 

soon 
As draw his sword ; yet he hath left undone 
That which shall break his neck or hazard 

mine, 



sc. vii.] CORIOLANUS. 139 

Whene'er we come to our account. 

Lieu. Sir, I beseech you, think you he '11 

carry Rome ? 
Auf. All places yield to him ere he sits 
down ; 
And the nobility of Rome are his : 
The senators and patricians ove him too : 3° 
The tribunes are no soldiers ; and their 

people 
Will be as rash in the repeal as hasty 
T' expel him thence. I think he '11 be to 

Rome 
As is the osprey to the fish, who takes it 
By sovereignty of nature. First he was 
A noble servant to them ; but he could not 
Carry his honors even : whether 't was pride, 
Which out of daily fortune ever taints 
The happy man; whether defect of judg- 
ment, 
To fail in the disposing of those chances 40 
Which he was lord of ; or whether nature, 
Not to be other than one thing, not moving 
From th' casque to th' cushion, but com- 
manding peace 
E'en with the same austerity and garb 
Ashe controll'd the war ; but one of these — 
As he hath spices of them all, not all, 
For I dare so far free him — made him fear'd, 
So hated, and so banish'd : but he has a 

merit, 
To choke it in the utterance. So our virtues 
Lie in th' interpretation of the time : 50 

And power, unto itself most commendable, 



140 CORIOLANUS* [act v. 

Hath not a tomb so evident as a chair 

T' extol what it hath done. 

One fire drives out one fire ; one nail, one 

nail ; 
Rights by rights falter, strengths by strengths 

do fail. 
Come, let 's away. When, Caius, Rome is 

thine, 
Thou 'rt poor'st of all ; then shortly art thou 

mine. \Exeiint. 



ACT V. 

SCENE I. Rome. A public place. 

Enter Menenius, Cominius, Sicinius, 
Brutus, and others. 

Men. No, I '11 not go : you hear what he 

hath said 
Which was sometime his general ; who 

loved him 
In a most dear particular. He call'd me 

father : 
But what o' that? Go, you that banish'd 

him ; 
A mile before his tent fall down, and knee 
The way into his mercy : nay, if he coy'd 
To hear Cominius speak, I 11 keep at home. 
Ci.m. He would not seem to know me. 



sc. I.] CORIOLANUS. 141 

Men. Do you hear ? 

Com. Yet one time he did call me by my 
name : 
I urg'd our old acquaintance, and the drops 10 
That we have bled together. Coriolanus 
He would not answer to : forbad all names ; 
He was a kind of nothing, titleless, 
Till he had forg'd himself a name o' the fire 
Of burning Rome. 

Men. Why, so : you 've made good work ! 
A pair of tribunes that have wreck'd fair 

Rome 
To make coals cheap, — a noble memory ! 
Com. I minded him how royal 't was to 
pardon 
When it was least expected : he replied, 
It was a rare petition of a state 20 

To one whom they had punish'd. 

Men. Very well : 

Could he say less? 

Co?n. I offer'd to awaken his regard 
For 's private friends : his answer to me 

was, 
He could not stay to pick them in a pile 
Of noisome,- musty chaff : he said 't was 

folly, 
For one poor grain or two, to leave 't un- 

burnt 
And still to nose the offence. 

Men. For one poor grain or two ! 

I 'm one of those ; his mother, wife, his 

child, 
And this brave fellow too, we are the grains : 30 



M2 CORIOLANUS. [act v. 

You are the musty chaff ; and you are smelt 
Above the moon : we must be burnt for 
you. 
Sic. Nay, pray, be patient : if you refuse 
your aid 
In this so never-needed help, yet do not 
Upbraid 's with our distress. But, sure, if 

you 
Would be your country's pleader, your good 

tongue, 
More than the instant army we can make, 
Might stop our countiyman. 

Men. No, I '11 not meddle. 

Sic. Pray you, go to him. 
Men. What should I do ? 

Bru. Only make trial what your love can 
40 do 

For Rome, towards Marcius. 

Men. Well, and say that Marcius 

Return me, as Cominius is return 'd, 
Unheard; what then ? or not unheard, but as 
A discontented friend, grief shot with his 
Unkindness ? 

Sic. Say 't be so ? yet your good will 
Must have that thanks from Rome, after 

the measure 
As you intended well. 

Men. I '11 undertake 't ; 

I think he '11 hear me. Yet, to bite his lip 
And hum at good Cominius much unhearts 
me. 
50 He was not taken well ; he had not din'd : 



sc. I.] C0R10LANUS. 143 

The veins unfill'd, our blood is cold, and 

then 
We pout upon the morning, are unapt 
To give or to forgive; but when we 've 

sturT'd 
These pipes and these conveyances of our 

blood 
With wine and feeding, we have suppler 

souls 
Than in our priest like fasts : therefore I '11 

watch him 
Till he be dieted to my request, 
And then I '11 set upon him. 
Bru. You know the very road into his 

kindness, 
And cannot lose your way. 

Men. Good faith, I '11 prove him. 60 

Speed how it will, you shall ere long have 

knowledge 

Of my success. [Exit. 

Com. He '11 never hear him. 

Sic. Not? 

Com. I tell you he does sit in gold, his eye 

Red as 't would burn Rome ; and his injury 

The gaolor to his pity. I kneel'd before 

. him; 
'T was very faintly he said, " Rise ; " dis- 

miss'd me 
Thus, with his speechless hand : what he 

would do, 
He sent in writing after me, what he would 

not ; 



144 COKIOLANUS. [act v. 

Bound with an oath to yield to his con- 
ditions : 
7° So that all hope is vain, 

Unless in 's noble mother and his wife ; 

Who, as I hear, mean to solicit him 

For mercy to his country. Therefore, let's 

hence 
And with our fair entreaties haste them on. 

{Exeunt. 



SCENE II. Entrance of the Volscian camp 
before Rome. Two Sentinels on guard. 

Enter to the?n, Menenius. 

First Sen. Stay : whence are you ? 
Sec. Sen. Stand, and go back. 

Men. You guard like men ; 't is well : but 
by your leave, 
I am an officer of state, and come 
To speak with Coriolanus. 

First Sen. From whence ? 

Men. From Rome. 

First Sen. You may not pass, you must 
return : our general 
Will no more hear from thence. 

Sec. Sen. You '11 see your Rome embrac'd 
with fire before 
You '11 speak with Coriolanus. 

Men. Good my friends, 

If you have heard your general talk of 
Rome 
10 And of his friends there, it is lots to blanks, 



sc. ii.] CORIOLANUS. 145 

My name hath touch'd your ears : it is Me- 

nenius. 
First Sen. Be it so ; go back : the virtue 

of your name 
Is not here passable. 

Men. I tell thee, fellow, 

Thy general is my lover : I have been 
The book of his good acts, whence men 

have read 
His fame unparallel'd, haply amplified ; 
For I have ever magnified my friends, 
Of whom he 's chief, with all the size that 

verity 
Would without lapsing suffer: nay, some- 
times, 
Like to a bowl upon a subtle ground, 20 

I 've tumbled past the throw : and in his 

praise 
Have almost stamp'd the leasing : therefore, 

fellow, 
I must have leave to pass. 

First Sen. Faith, sir, if you had told as 
many lies in his behalf as you have uttered 
words in your own, you should not pass 
here; no, though it were as virtuous to lie 
as to live chastely. Therefore, go back. 

Men. Prithee, fellow, remember my name 
is Menenius, always factionary on the party 
of your general. 

Sec. Sen. Howsoever you have been his 
liar, as you say you have, I am one that, 30 
telling true under him, must say you cannot 
pass. Therefore, go back. 



146 C0R10LANUS. [aci v. 

Men. Has he dined, canst thou tell ? for 
I would not speak with him till after dinner- 

First Sen. You are a Roman, are you ? 

Men. I am, as thy general is. 

First Sen. Then you should hate Rome, 
as he does. Can you, when you have 
push'd out your gates the very defender of 
them, and, in a violent popular ignorance, 
given your enemy your shield, think to front 
4° his revenges with the easy groans of old 
women, the virginal palms of your daugh- 
ters, or with the palsied intercession of such 
a decay'd dotant as you seem to be ? Can 
you think to blow out the intended fire 
your city is ready to flame in, with such 
weak breath as this ? No, you are deceiv'd ; 
therefore, back to Rome, and prepare for 
your execution: you are condemn'd, our 
general has sworn "you out of reprieve and 
pardon. 

Men. Sirrah, if thy captain knew I were 
here, he would use me with estimation. 

First Sen. Come, my captain knows you 
50 not. 

Men. I mean, thy general. 

First Sen. My general cares not for you. 
Back, I say, go ; lest I let forth your half- 
pint of blood ; back, — that 's the utmost of 
your having : back. 

Men. Nay, but, fellow, fellow, — 
Enter Coriolanus and Aufidius. 

Cor. What 's the matter ? 

Men. Now, you companion, I '11 say an 



sc. ii.] CORIOLANUS. 147 

errand for you : you shall know now that I 
am in estimation ; you shall perceive that a 
Jack guardant cannot office me from my son 
Coriolanus: guess, but by my entertainment 6a 
with him, if thou stand'st not i' the state of 
hanging, or of some death more long in 
spectators!] ip, and crueller in suffering ; be- 
hold now presently, and swoon for what 's to 
come upon thee. [To Cor.] The glorious 
gods sit in hourly synod about thy particular 
prosperity, and love thee no worse than thy 
old father Menenius does ! O my son, my 
son ! thou art preparing fire for us ; look 
thee, here 's water to quench it. I was 
hardly mov'd to come to thee ; but being 
assur'd none but myself could move thee, I 70 
have been blown out of our gates with 
sighs ; and conjure thee to pardon Rome, 
and thy petitionary countrymen. The good 
gods assuage thy wrath, and turn the 
dregs of it upon this varlet here, — this, who, 
like a block, hath denied my access to thee. 

Cor. Away ! 

Men. How ! away ! 

Cor. Wife, mother, child, I know not. 
My affairs 
Are servanted to others : though I owe 
My revenge properly, my remission lies 
In Volscian breasts. That we have been 

familiar, 
Ingrate forgetfulness shall poison, rather 80 
Than pity note how much. Therefore, be 
gone. 



148 C0R10LANUS. [act v. 

Mine ears against your suits are stronger 

than 
Your gates against my force. Yet, for I 

lov'd thee, 
Take this along ; I writ it for thy sake, 

[Gives a letter. 
And would have sent it. Another word, 

Menenius, 
I will not hear thee speak. This man, 

Aufidius, 
Was my belov'd in Rome : yet thou be- 
ll old'st ! 
Anf. You keep a constent temper. 

[Exeunt Coriolamis and Aufidius. 
First Sen. Now, sir, is your name Mene- 
nius? 

Sec. Sen. 'T is a spell* you see, of much 
01 power : you know the way home again. 

First Sen. Do you hear how w r e are shent 
for keeping your greatness back ? 

Sec. Sen. What cause, do you think, I have 
to swoon ? 

Men. I neither care for the world nor 
your general : for such things as you, I can 
scarce think there 's any, ye 're so slight. 
He that hath a will to die by himself fears 
it not from another : let your general do his 
worst. For you, be that you are, long; and 
your misery increase with your age! I say 
to you, as I was said to, Away ! [Exit. 

101 First Sen. A noble fellow, I warrant him. 
Sec. Sen. The worthy fellow is our gen- 



sc. in.] CORIOLANUS. 149 

eral : he's the rock, the oak not to be wind- 
shaken. \Exeunt. 



Scene III. The tent of Coriolanus. 
Enter Coriolanus, Aufidius, and others. 

Cor. We will before the walls of Rome 

to-morrow 
Set down our host. My partner in this 

action, 
You must report to the Volscian lords how 

plainly 
I have borne this business. 

Auf. Only their ends 

You have respected; stopp'd your ears 

against 
The general suit of Rome ; never admitted 
A private whisper, no, not with such friends 
That thought them sure of you. 

Cor. This last old man, 

Whom with a crack'd heart I have sent to 

Rome, 
Lov'd me above the measure of a father ; 
Nay, godded me, indeed. Their latest 

refuge 
Was to send him ; for whose old love I have, 
Though I show'd sourly to him, once more 

offer'd 
The first conditions, which they did refuse 
And cannot now accept ; to grace him only 
That thought he could do more, a very little 
I have yielded to : fresh embassies and suits, 



150 CORIOLANUS. [act v. 

Nor from the state nor private friends, here- 
after 
Will I lend ear to. Ha ! what shout is this ? 

[Shout within. 
20 Shall I be tempted to infringe my vow- 
In the same time 't is made? I will not. 

Enter, in mourning habits, Virgilia, Vo- 
LUMNIA, leading young M ARC I US, VA- 
LERIA, and Attendants. 

My wife comes foremost ; then the honor'd 

mould 
Wherein this trunk was framed, and in her 

hand 
The grandchild to her blood. But, out, 

affection ! 
All bond and privilege of nature, break ! 
Let it be virtuous to be obstinate. 
What is that curt'sy worth ? or those doves' 

eyes, 
Which can make gods forsworn ? I melt, 

and am not 
Of stronger earth than others. My mother 

bows ; 
30 As if Olympus to a molehill should 

In supplication nod : and my young boy 
Hath an aspect of intercession, which 
Great nature cries, " Deny not." Let the 

Volsces 
Plough Rome and harrow Italy ; I '11 never 
Be such a gosling to obey instinct, 'but stand 
As if a man were author of himself 
And knew no other kin. 



sc. in.] CORIOLANUS, 151 

Vir. My lord and husband ! 

Cor. These eyes are not the same I wore 

in Rome. 
Vir. The sorrow that delivers us thus 

chang'd 
Makes you think so. 

Cor. Like a dull actor now 40 

I have forgot my part, and I am out, 
Even to a full disgrace. Best of my flesh, 
Forgive my tyranny; but do not say 
For that, " Forgive our Romans." Oh, a kiss 
Long as my exile, sweet as ray revenge ! 
Now, by the jealous queen of heaven, that 

kiss 
I carried from thee, dear ; and my true lip 
Hath virgin'd it e'er since. You gods! I 

prate, 
And the most noble mother of the world 
Leave unsaluted : sink, my knee, i' the 

earth ; {Kneels. 50 

Of thy deep duty more impression show 
Than that of common sons. 

Vol. Oh, stand up blest ! 

Whilst, with no softer cushion than the flint, 
I kneel before thee ; and unproperly 
Show duty, as mistaken all this while 
Between the child and parent {Kneels. 

Cor. What is this ? 

Your knees to me ? to your corrected son ? 
Then let the pebbles on the hungry beach 
Fillip the stars ; then let the mutinous wind's 
Strike the proud cedars 'gainst the fiery sun ; 60 
Murdering impossibility, to make 



152 CORIOLANUS. [act v. 

What cannot be, slight work. 

Vol. Thou art my warrior; 

I holp to frame thee. Do you know this 
lady? 

Cor. The noble sister of Publicola, 
The moon of Rome, chaste as the icicle 
That 's curded by the frost from purest snow 
And hangs on Dian's temple : dear Valeria! 

Vol. This is a poor epitome of yours, 
Which by th' interpretation of full time 
May show like all yourself. 
70 Cor. Thegod of soldiers, 

With the consent of supreme Jove, inform 
Thy thoughts with nobleness ; that thou 

mayst prove 
To shame unvulnerable, and st ick i' the wars 
Like a great sea-mark, standing every flaw, 
And saving those that^ye thee ! 

Vol. Your knee, sirrah. 

Cor. That 's my brave boy ! 

Vol. Even he, your wife, this lady, and 
myself 
Are suitors to you. 

Cor. I beseech you, peace : 

Or, if you 'd ask, remember this before : 
The things I have forsworn to grant may 
80 never 

Be held by you denials. Do not bid me 
Dismiss my soldiers, or capitulate 
Again with Rome's mechanics: tell me not 
Wherein I seem unnatural : desire not 
T' allay my rages and revenges with 
Your colder reasons. 



sc. in.] CORIOLANUS. 153 

Vol. Oh, no more, no more I 

You 've said you will not grant us any thing; 
For we havemothing else to ask but that 
Which you deny already : yet we '11 ask ; 
That, if we fail in our request, the blame 90 
May hang upon your hardness: therefore 

hear us. 
Cor. Aufidius and you Volsces, mark ; 

for we '11 
Hear naught from Rome in private, Your 

request ? 
Vol. Should we be silent and not speak, 

our raiment 
And state of bodies would bewray what life 
We 've led since thy exile. Think with thv- 

self 
How more unfortunate than all living 

women 
Are we come hither : since that thy sight, 

which should 
Make our eyes flow with joy, hearts dance 

with comforts, 
Constrains them weep and shake with fear 

and sorrow ; 100 

Making the mother, wife, and child to see 
The son, the husband, and the father tearing 
His country's bowels out. And to poor we 
Thine enmity's most capital : thou barr'stus 
Our prayers to the gods, which is a comfort 
That all but we enjoy : for how can we, 
Alas, how can we for our country pray, 
Whereto we 're bound, together with thy 

victory, 



154 CORIOLANUS. [act v. 

Whereto we're bound ? alack, or we must 

lose 
The country, our dear nurse, or else thy 
no person, 

Our comfort in the country. We must find 

An evident calamity, though we had 

Our wish, which side should win : for either 

thou 
Must, as a foreign recreant, be led 
With manacles through our streets, or else 
Triumphantly tread on thy country's ruin, 
And bear the palm for having bravely shed 
Thy wife and children's blood. For myself, 

son, 
1 purpose not to wait on fortune till 
These wars determine : if I cannot persuade 
i 20 thee 

Rather to show a noble grace to both parts 
Than seek the end of one, thou shalt no 

sooner 
March to assault thy country than to tread — 
Trust to 't, thou shalt not — on thy mother's 

womb, 
That brought thee to this world. 

Vir. Ay, and on mine, 

That brought )^ou forth this boy, to keep 

your name 
Living to time. 

Young Mar. A shall not tread on me ; 

I '11 run away till I am bigger, then I '11 fight. 

Cor. Not of a woman's tenderness to be, 

13° Requires nor child nor woman's face to see. 

I 've sat too long. [Rising. 



SC. in.] CORIOLANUS. 155 

Vol. Nay, go not from us thus. 

If it were so that our request did tend 
To save the Romans, thereby to destroy 
The Volsces whom you serve, you might 

condemn us 
As poisonous of your honor : no ; our suit 
Is, that you reconcile them : while the 

Volsces 
May say, " This mercy we have show'd ; " 

the Romans, 
" This we receiv'd ; " and each in either side 
Give the all-hail to thee, and cry, " Be blest 
For making up this peace ! " Thou know'st, 

great son, 140 

The end of war 's uncertain, but this certain, 
That, if you conquer Rome, the benefit 
Which thou shalt thereby reap is such a 

name, 
Whose repetition will be dogg'd with curses; 
Whose chronicle thus writ : " The man was 

noble, 
But with his last attempt he wip'd it out ; 
Destroy'd his country, and his name re- 
mains 
To the ensuing age abhorr'd." Speak to 

me, son : 
Thou hast affected the fine strains of honor, 
To imitate the graces of the gods ; 150 

To tear with thunder the wide cheeks o' 

the air, 
And yet to charge thy sulphur with a bolt 
That should but rive an oak. Why dost 

not speak ? 



156 CORIOLANUS. [act v. 

Think'st thou it honorable for a noble man 
Still to remember wrongs ? Daughter, 

speak you : 
He cares not for 5?our weeping. Speak 

thou, boy : 
Perhaps thy childishness will move him 

more 
Than can our reasons. There 's no man in 

the world 
More bound to 's mother; yet here he lets 

me prate 
Like one i' the stocks. Thou 'st never in 
160 thy life 

Show'd thy dear mother anjr courtesy, 
When she, poor hen, fond of no second 

brood, 
Has cluck'd thee to the wars and safely 

home, 
Loaden with honor. Say my request 's un- 
just, 
And spurn me back : but, if it be not so, 
Thou art not honest; and the gods will 

plague thee, 
That thou restrain'st from me the duty 

which 
To a mother's part belongs. He turns 

away : 
Down, ladies; let us shame him with our 

knees. 
To his surname Coriolanus 'longs more 
170 pride 

Than pity to our prayers. Down : an end ; 
This is the last : so we will home to Rome,' 



sc. in.] CORIOLANUS. 157 

And die among our neighbors. Nay, be- 
hold 's : 

This boy, that cannot tell what he would 
have, 

But kneels and holds up hands for fellow- 
ship, 

Does reason our petition with more strength 

Than thou hast to deny 't. Come, let us go : 

This fellow had a Volscian to his mother; 

His wife is in Corioli and this c, ild 

Like him by chance. Yet give us our de- 
spatch : 180 

I 'm hush'd until our city be afire, 

And then I '11 speak a little. 

{He holds her by the hand, silent. 
Cor. O mother, mother! 

What have you done? Behoid, the heavens 
do ope, 

The gods look down, and this unnatural 
scene 

They laugh at. O mv mother, mother ! 
Oh! 

You 've won a happy victory to Rome ; 

But, for your son, — believe it, O, believe it, 

Most dangerously you have with him pre- 
vail'd, 

If not most mortal to him. But, let it 
come. 

Aufidius, though I cannot make true wars, 190 

I '11 frame convenient peace. Now, good 
Aufidius, 

Were you in my stead, say would you have 
heard 



158 CORIOLANUS. [act v. 

A mother less ? or granted less, Aufidius ? 
Auf. I was mov'd withal. 
Cor. I dare be sworn you were : 

And, sir, it is no little thing to make 
Mine eyes to sweat compassion. But, good 

sir, 
What peace you '11 make advise me : for my 

part, 
I '11 not to Rome, I '11 back witu you ; and 

pray you, 
Stand to me in this cause. O mother! wife ! 
Auf. [Aside.] I 'm glad thou 'st set thy 
200 mercy and thy honor 

At difference in thee : out of that I '11 work 
Myself a firmer fortune. 

[ The Ladies make sig7is to Coriolanus. 
Cor. Ay, by and by ; 

[To Volumnia, Virgilia, &°c. 
We will but drink together ; and you shall 

bear 
A better witness back than words, which 

we, 
On like conditions, will have counter-seal'd. 
Come, enter with us. Ladies, you deserve 
To have a temple built you : all the swords 
In Italy and her confederate arms 
209 Could not have made this peace. [Exeunt. 

Scene IV. Rome. A public place. 

Enter Menenius and Sicinius. 

Men. See you yond coign o' the Capitol, 
yond corner-stone? 



sc. iv.] CORIOLANUS. 159 

Sic. Why, what of that ? 

Men. If it be possible for you to displace 
it with your little finger, there is some hope 
the ladies of Rome, especially his mother, 
may prevail with him. But I say there is 
no hope in 't : our throats aresentenc'd and 
stay upon execution. 

Sic. Is 't possible that so short a time 
can alter the condition of a man ? 

Men. There is differency between a grub 
and a butterfly; yet your butterfly was a 
grub. This Marcius is grown from man to 
dragon : he has wings; he 's more than a 
creeping thing. 12 

Sic. He loved his mother dearly. 

Men. So did he me : and he no more re- 
members his mother now than an eight-year- 
old horse. The tartness of his face sours ripe 
grapes : when he walks, he moves like an 
engine, and the ground shrinks before his 
treading : he is able to pierce a corslet with 
his eye; talks like a knell, and his hum is a 
battery. He sits in his state as a thing made 
for Alexander. What he bids be done is 
finish'd with his bidding. He wants noth- 
ing of a god but eternity and a heaven to 
throne in. 22 

Sic. Yes, mercy, if you report him truly. 

Men. I paint him in the character. Mark 
what mercy his mother shall bring from 
him : there is no more mercy in him than 
there is milk in a male tiger ; that shall our 
poor city find : and all this is 'long of you. 



160 CORIOLANUS. [act v. 

Sic. The gods be good unto us ! 
Men. No, in such a case the gods will not 
be good unto us. When we banish'd him, 
we respected not them ; and, he returning 
31 to break our necks, they respect not us. 
Enter a Messenger. 
Mess. Sir, if you 'd save your life, fly to 
your house. 
The plebeians have got your fellow-tribune 
And hale him up and down, all swearing, if 
The Roman ladies bring not comfort home, 
They'll give him death by inches. 
Enter a second Messenger. 
Sic. What 's the news ? 

Sec. Mess. Good news, good news ; the 
ladies have prevail'd, 
The Volscians are dislodg'd, and Marcius 

gone : 
A merrier day did never yet greet Rome, 
No, not the expulsion of the Tarquins. 
40 Sic. Friend, 

Art certain this is true? is it most certain? 
Sec. Mess. As certain as I know the sun is 
fire : 
Where have you lurk'd that you make 

doubt of it ? 
Ne'er through an arch so hurried the blown 

tide, 
As the recomforted through the gates. 
Why, hark you ! 
[ Trumpets ; hautboys ; drums beat ; all 
together. 



sc. v.] CO RIO LAN US. 161 

The trumpets, sackbuts, psalteries, and fifes, 
Tabors and cymbals and the shouting Ro- 
mans 
Make the sun dance. Hark you ! 

[ A shout within. 
Men. This is good news : 

I will go meet the ladies. This Volumnia 
Is worth of consuls, senators, patricians, 5° 
A city full ; of tribunes, such as you, 
A sea and land full. You 've prayed well 

to-day : 
This morning for ten thousand of your 

throats 
I 'd not have given a doit. Hark, how they 
joy ! [Music still, with shouts. 

Sic. First, the gods bless you for your 
tidings ; next, 
Accept my thankfulness. 

Sec. Mess. Sir, we have all 

Great cause to give great thanks. 

Sic. They are near the city ? 

Sec. Mess. Almost at point to enter. 
Sic. We will meet them, 

And help the joy. [Exeunt. 



Scene V. The same. A street near the gate. 

Enter two Senators with Volumnia, Vir- 
gilia, Valeria, etc., passing over the 
stage, followed by Patricia7is and others. 

First Sen. Behold our patroness, the life 
of Rome ! 



162 CORIOLANUS. [act v. 

Call all your tribes together, praise the gods, 
And make triumphant fires ; strew flowers 

before them : 
Unshout the noise that banish'd Marcius, 
Repeal him with the welcome of his mother ; 
Cry, "Welcome, ladies, welcome!" 

All. Welcome, ladies, 

Welcome ! 

[A flourish with drums and trumpets. 
Exeunt. 



Scene VI. Corioli. A public place. 
Enter Tullus Aufidtus, with Attendants. 

Auf. Go tell the lords o' the city I am 

here. 
Deliver them this paper : having read it, 
Bid them repair to th' market-place, 

where I, 
Even in theirs and in the commons' ears, 
Will vouch the truth of it. Him I accuse 
The city ports by this hath enter'd and 
Intends to appear before the people, hoping 
To purge himself with words : dispatch. 

\_Exeunt Attendants. 

Enter three or four Conspirators of Au- 
fidius's faction. 

Most welcome! 
First Con. How is it with our general ? 



sc. vi] C0R10LANUS. 163 

Auf. Even so 10 

As with a man by his own alms empoison'd, 
And with his charity slain. 

Sec. Con. Most noble sir, 

If you do hold the same intent wherein 
You wish'd us parties, we '11 deliver you 
Of your great danger. 

Auf. Sir, I cannot tell : 

We must proceed as we do find the people. 
Third. Con. The people will remain un- 
certain whilst 
'Twixt you there 's difference ; but the fall of 

either 
Makes the survivor heir of all. 

Auf. I know it ; 

And my pretext to strike at him admits 20> 
A good construction. I rais'd him, and I 

pawn'd 
Mine honor for his truth : who being so 

heighten'd, 
He water'd his new plants with dews of 

flattery, 
Seducing so. my friends; and, to this end, 
He bow'd his nature, never known before 
But to be rough, unswayable, and free. 

Third Con. Sir, his stoutness 
When he did stand for consul, which he lost 
By lack of stooping, — 

Auf. That I would have spoke of: 

Being banish'd for 't, he came unto my 

hearth, 30 

Presented to my knife his throat: I took 
him, 



1 64 C0R10LANUS. [act v. 

Made him joint-servant with me, gave him 

way 
In all his own desires, nay, let him choose 
Out of my files, his projects to accomplish, 
My best and freshest men, serv'd his de- 

signments 
In mine own person, holp to reap the fame 
Which he did end all his, and took some 

pride 
To do myself this wrong ; till, at the last, 
I seem'd his follower, not partner, and 
40 He wag'd me with his countenance, as if 
I had been mercenary. 

First Con. So he did, my lord : 

The army marvel'd at it; and, in the last, 
When he had carried Rome and that we 

look'd 
For no less spoil than glory, — 

Auf. There was it : 

For which my sinews shall be stretch'd 

upon him. 
At a few drops of women's rheum, which 

are 
As cheap as lies, he sold the blood and 

labor 
Of our great action : therefore shall he die, 
And I'll renew me in his fall. But, hark! 
[Drums and trumpets sound, with great 
shouts of the people. 
First Con. Your native town you enter'd 
59 like a post, 

And had no welcomes home, but he returns 
Splitting the air with noise. 



sc. vi.] CORIOLANUS. 165 

Sec. Con. And patient fools, 

Whose children, he hath slain, their base 

throats tear 
With giving him glory. 

Third Con. Therefore, at your vantage. 
Ere he express himself, or move the people 
With what he would say, let him feel your 

sword, 
Which we will second. When he lies along, 
After your way his tale pronounc'd shall 

bury 
His reasons with his body. 

Auf. Say no more : 

Here come the lords. 60 

Enter the Lords of the city. 

All the Lords. You are most welcome 

home. 
Auf. I 've not deserved it. 

But, worthy lords, have you with heed 

perus'd 
What I have written to you ? 

Lords. We have. 

First Lord. And grieve to hear 't. 

What faults he made before the last, I think 
Might have found easy fines : but there to 

end 
Where he was to begin and give away 
The benefit of our levies, answering us 
With our own charge, making a treaty 

where 
There was a yielding, — this admits no ex- 
cuse. 



i66 CORIOLANUS. [act v. 

70 Auf. He approaches : you shall hear him. 

Enter CORIOLANUS, 77iarching with drums 
and colors; Cotmnoners being- with him. 

Cor. Hail, lords ! I am return'd your sol- 
dier, 
No more infected with my country's love 
Than when I parted hence, but still subsist- 
ing 
Under your great command. You are to 

know 
That prosperously I have attempted and 
With bloody passage led your wars even to 
The gates of Rome. Our spoils we have 

brought home 
Do more than counterpoise a full third part 
The charges of the action. We 've made 
peace 
So With no less honor to the Antiates 

Than shame to the Romans : and we here 

deliver, 
Subscrib'd by th' consuls and patricians, 
Together with the seal o' the senate, what 
We have compounded on. 

Auf. Read it not, noble lords ; 

But tell the traitor in the high'st degree 
He hath abus'd your powers. 
Cor. Traitor ! how now ! 
Auf. Ay, traitor, Marcius ! 

Cor. Marcius ! 

Auf. Ay, Marcius, Caius Marcius : dost 
thou think 



sc. vi.] CORIOLANUS. 167 

I'll grace thee with that robbery, thy stol'n 

name 
Coriolanus in Corioli ? 90 

You lords and heads o' the state, perfidi- 
ously 
He has betray'd your business, and given 

up, 
For certain drops of salt, your citv Rome, 
— I say " your city," — to his wife and mother; 
Breaking his oath and resolution like 
A twist of rotton silk, never admitting 
Counsel o' the war, but at his nurse's tears 
He whin'd and roar'd away your victory, 
That pages blush'd at him, and men of 

heart 
Look'd wondering each at other. 
Cor. Hear'st thou, Mars? 100 

Auf. Name not the god, thou boy of 

tears ! 
Cor. Ha! 

Auf. No more. 
Cor. Measureless liar, thou hast made my 

heart 
Too great for what contains it. " Boy " ! 

O slave ! — 
Pardon me, lords, 't is the first time that 

ever 
I was forc'd to scold. Your judgments, my 

grave lords, 
Must give this cur the lie : and his own 

notion — 
Who wears my stripes impress'd upon him, 

that 



168 CORIOLANUS. [act v. 

Must bear my beating to his grave — shall 
join 
no To thrust the lie unto him. 

First Lord. Peace, both, and hear me 

speak. 
Cor. Cut me to pieces, Volsces ; men and 
lads, 
Stain all your edges on me. " Boy " ! false 

hound ! 
If you have writ your annals true, 't is there, 
That, like an eagle in a dove-cote, I 
Flutter'd your Volscians in Corioli : 
Alone I did it. "Boy" ! 

Auf. Why, noble lords, 

Will you be put in mind of his blind for- 
tune, 
Which was your shame, by this unholy 

braggart, 
'Fore your own eyes and ears ? 
1 20 All Consp. Let him die for 't. 

All the People. " Tear him to pieces." 
"Do it presently." "He killed my son." 
"My daughter." "He killed my cousin 
Marcus." " He killed ray father." 

Sec. Lord. Peace, ho ! no outrage : peace ! 
The man is noble and his fame folds-in 
This orb o' the earth. His last offences to 

us 
Shall have judicious hearing. Stand, Au- 

fldius, 
And trouble not the peace. 

Cor. Oh that I had him, 

With six Aufidiuses, or more, his tribe, 



sc. vi.] CORIOLAN.US. 169 

To use my lawful sword ! 

Auf. Insolent villain ! 13° 

All Consp. Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill him ! 

[The Conspirators draw, and kill Corio- 
lanus : Aufidius sta7ids on his body. 

Lords. Hold, hold, hold, hold ! 

Auf. My noble masters, hear me speak. 
First Lord. O Tullus, — 

Sec. Lord. Thou hast done a deed where- 
at valor will weep. 
Third Lord. Tread not upon him. Mas- 
ters all, be quiet ; 
Put up your swords. 
Auf. My lords, when you shall know — 
as in this rage, 
Provok'd by him, you cannot — the great 

danger 
Which this man's life did owe you, you '11 

rejoice 
That he is thus cut off. Please it your 

honors 
To call me to your senate, I '11 deliver 140 

Myself your loyal servant, or endure 
Your heaviest censure. 

First Lord. Bear from hence his body ; 
And mourn you for him: let him be re- 
garded 
As the most noble corse that ever herald 
Did follow to his urn. 

Sec. Lord. His own impatience 

Takes from Aufidius a great part of blame. 
Let 's make the best of it. 



170 CORIOLANUS. [act v. 

Anf. My rage is gone ; 

And I am struck with sorrow. Take him 

up. 
Help, three o' the chiefest soldiers; I '11 be 

one. 
Beat thou the drum that it speak mourn- 
15° fully: 

Trail your steel pikes. Though in this city 

he 
Hath widow'd and unchilded many a one, 
Which to this hour bewail the injury, 
Yet he shall have a noble memory. 
Assist. 

[Exeunt, beari?ig the body of Coriolanus. 
A dead march sowided. 



NOTES. 



Act I. Scene I. 

3. to die . . . famish? to die a violent death in combat rather 
than slowly perish of 1 amine ? 

9. Is 't a verdict ? have you made up your minds on that 
point ? 

13. good, in point of wealth : What authority . . . us, that 
which is to those in authority, the patricians, something over 
and above what they can profitably use for their wants, would 
relieve our distress. 

14. while it were wholesome, before it should become so 
musty as to be useless for food ; for the subjunctive used indef- 
initely after a relative conjunction, see Abb. § 367. 

16. too dear, not worth the keeping alive at such a cost. 

17. 8. is as . . . abundance, serves, by way of contrast, to 
make them mindful of their own well-fed condition. 

18. our sufferance . . . them, our misery adds something in 
the way of zest to their prosperity. 

18, 9. Let us . . . rakes. Warburton points out that pikes 
was an old term for forks, i.e. pitc/i-iorks. with which hay, 
straw, etc., was picked, or pitched, on to a heap. In rakes, the 
comparison is to the bones of an animal showing below the 
skin as distinctly as the teeth of a rake. 

23. he 's a very . . . commonalty, he worries us, the com- 
mon people, with all the fierceness of a dog worrying sheep. 

29, 30. what he hath . . . end, those famous actions he has 
performed, he performed only in order that he might be able 
to make them an excuse for indulging in his pride. 

33. virtue, in the sense of the Cat. virtus, valor, manly 
excellence, from vir, a man. 

38. The other side, the part beyond the Tiber. But in all 

171 



172 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

probability Shakespeare had in his mind the topography of 
London and not of Rome, and the Tower was to him the 
Capitol. 

39. is risen, is*up in arms : tb.e Capitol, the temple of Jupiter 
Optimus Maximus at Rome, said to have derived its name from 
a human head's {caput) being discovered in digging its founda- 
tion. Begun by Tarquinius Priscus and finished by Tarquinius 
Superbus, it was three times burnt down and as often rebuilt. 

41. Soft! wait awhile ! 

47. bats, bludgeons, cudgels. 

57. For, as regards. 

60-3. whose course . . . impediment, whose course will go 
forward in the direction it has marked out for itself, easily 
breaking- down all hindrances, though ten thousand times more 
stubborn than any you can place in its way. 

68. The helms o' the state, those who are guiding the vessel 
of state. 

73, 4. make edicts . . . usurers, they frame resolutions in 
favor of usury, whereby the exorbitant money-lenders are en- 
abled to nourish. An edict was a rule promulgated by mag- 
istrates, more especially the pretors, upon their entry into 
office at the beginning of the year; and when the custom of 
succeeding magistrates adopting the rules of their predecessors 
became common, these rules, or edicts, gradually constituted a 
large body of law. 

77-9. Either . . . folly, when you have heard what I have to 
say, you will either have to confess that your words are words 
of the merest malice, or that you have laid yourself open to the 
charge of folly. 

82. To stale . . . more, to make it a little more stale by 
repetition. 

84. fob, Ger. /bppen, to jeer, banter. 

85. deliver, relate. 

90. cupboarding, storing up as in a cupboard ; a cupboard is 
properly a closet with shelves on which cups are ranged, then 
a closet in which anything is kept : viand, food; the same as 
Ital. vivanda, victuals, food, eatables — Lat. viverida, neuter 
plural, things to live on, provisions. 

91. where, whereas: instruments, including bodily and 
mental organs. 

93. mutually participate, each sharing with the other in 
the common labor; the adjective participate is not elsewhere 
found in Shakespeare. 

94. appetite, desires : affection common, inclinations shared 
by the whole body. 

102. envied his receipt, were jealous of its receiving all the 
nourishment taken into the body: reecipt = thing received. 



sc. I.] NOTES. 173 

to8. muniments, instruments with which the body is fur- 
nished and armed; Lat. munire, to fortify. 

109. this our fabric, this frame-work of our body made up 
of all these several parts and organs : if that, for the conjunc- 
tional affix, see Abb. § 287. 

no. 'Fore me . . . speaks! my goodness ! this is a fellow to 
talk! 'Fore me, i.e. before me, in my presence, a petty 
adjuration. 

in. cormorant, voracious : properly a voracious sea-bird, 
the corvus marinus, sea-crow. 

113. agents, instruments, organs. 

115, 6. If you '11 . . . awhile, if for a moment or two you will 
show me a small amount of that quality of which your store is 
but slight, viz. patience. Though Shakespeare often uses 
small where we should use little, it is probable that but for the 
parenthesis he would not have written a small Patience. 

117. Note me, for this dative, see Abb. §220. 

118. Your, colloquially, as in 1. 104. 

120. incorporate, belonging to the same body as myself. 

121. general, belonging equally to all parts of the body. 

123. the store-house and the shop. Grant White points 
out that in modern English, as spoken in Great Britain, the 
two words are used in the same sense ; whereas in America (as 
formerly in England) " shop " means the place where a thing 
is made, " store " or " store-house," the place where a thing is 
kept for sale. 

124. if you do remember, said with a sort of sarcastic 
politeness. 

126. Even . . . brain. Malone seems to be right when he 
says that the seat o' the brain is in apposition with, and de- 
scriptive of, the heart. That the heart was once believed to be 
the seat of the understanding, there can be no doubt ; and just 
above we have it spoken of as the counselor. Others take the 
heart and the seat o' the brain as the two points to which the 
blood conveys the nourishment ; in either case, seat will mean 
royal seat, throne, as frequently in Shakespeare. 

127-30. And, through . . . live, and through the passages 
and chambers of the body the strongest nerves alike with the 
petty veins receive from me that adequate sustenance which 
gives them vigorous life: cranks are properly winding channels, 
ducts, but here in connection with offices they represent the 
passages running through a house by which food is brought 
from the kitchen, larder. 

132. Ay, sir; well, well, said with impatience ; get on with 
this answer that the belly made. 

134. Yet I can . . . up, yet I can produce a balance-sheet 



174 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

showing how my account stands and proving- that all, etc.: 
audit, literally, the hearing of an account rendered by stewards. 
137. It was . . . this ? it was a good answer, but how do 
you apply it to the circumstances ? 

140, 1. digest . . . common, with impartial consideration turn 
over in your mind how the public welfare stands : weal, "A.S. 
<wela, from A.S. ivel, well, adverb, the notion of condition be- 
ing expressed by the nominal suffix -a " (Skeat, Ety. Diet.). 

141. you shall find. We should now say either, examine 
andyou will find, or. ?yyou examine, you will find. 

149, 50. Thou rascal . . . vantage, you worthless fellow, 
least fitted of all the herd to take the lead, put yourself at their 
head thinking to secure to yourself some personal advantage. 
Mason points out that rascal and in blood are terms of for- 
estry, the former meaning a lean deer, the latter full of animal 
vigor. 

153. The one . . . bale, one side or other must perish in the 
conflict ; bale, A.S. dea/u, evil, misfortune. 

155, 6. That . . . scabs ? who, in seeking to relieve the sedi- 
tious irritation from which you are suffering, only make your- 
selves more loathsome objects than before? the poor . . . 
opinion, this contemptible desire to make your miserable opin- 
ions heard. 

156. We have . . . word, i.e. we might be sure beforehand 
of abuse from you. 

162-4. no surer . . . sun, of no more steadfastness, endur- 
ance, than a coal which quickly burns itself out if put upon ice, 
or than, etc. 

164-6. Your virtue ... it, that in which you excel consists in 
exalting as a hero him whose vile actions have brought him to 
ruin, and in cursing that justice which has meted out his 
deserts to him. 

167-9. an d your . . . evil, and your inclinations are as the 
appetite of a sick man, who longs most for such food as would 
only make his malady worse. 

173. your hate, the object of your hatred. 

177. Under the gods, next to the gods ; as their vicegerents 
on earth . keep you in awe, awe you into subjection. 

183. declines, is falling from power : side factions, in their 
idle talk espouse one pafty or another : give out, proclaim as 
about to be made. . 

187. ruth, mercy, tenderness of heart. 

188. quarry, a heap of slaughtered game. " Corrupted from 
O.F. coree, curee, the intestines of the slain animal; the part 
that was given to the hounds . . . — Low Lat. corata, the 
intestines of the slain animal . . . — Lat. cor, heart "... 
(Skeat, Ety. Diet.). 



SC. I.] 



NOTES. 175 



191. Nay, these . . . persuaded, nay, there is no need to 
thunder at them any further, for they have already seen 
enough to be pretty well convinced of the folly of their out- 
break. 

195. an-hungry, here an- is a corruption of the A.S. intensive 
of; see Abb. § 24 : sigh'd forth, uttered in dismal accents. 

196. That hunger . . . walls, that nothing could restrain 
those who were starving : that dogs must eat, that even ani- 
mals must have food, and will seize it if not given them. 

201. To break . . . generosity, one calculated to humble the 
aristocracy to the dust ; generosity, the abstract for the con- 
crete ; Lat. generosus, well-born. 

202. And make . . . pale, and strike terror into the hearts 
of those who hitherto have boldly used the power intrusted to 
them. 

204. Shouting their emulation, each vieing with the other 
as to who should proclaim his satisfaction the louder. 

205. to defend . . . wisdoms, for the protection of these 
boors in the exercise of that wisdom with which they credit 
themselves. 

206. Originally two in number, the tribunes were afterwards 
increased to five, and later on to ten, two for each of the five 
classes of plebeians. 

207. and I know not, who the others were I have forgotten : 
's death, (by) God's death, i.e. the crucifixion of Christ ; so, 
'.y blood, by God's blood ; ''s life, by God's life; \y wounds, or 
zounds, by God's wounds. 

210. Win upon power, gradually make an inroad upon the 
power wielded by the nobles. 

211. For . . . arguing, for insurgents to debate upon, the 
abstract for the concrete. 

212. fragments, mere portions of men ; none of you worthy 
to be called a man. 

215, 6. to vent . . . superfluity, to get rid of the worthless 
fellows of whom we have such superabundance. To vent is 
to sell, and the idea is that of getting rid to foreigners of goods 
not fit for home consumption, here of course by getting them 
killed off. 

216. our best elders, our noble senators ; the /aires, fathers 
of state. 

220. I sin . . . nobility, if envy is a sin, then I am guilty of 
that sin, for I do envy his nobleness of character. 

222. only he, none other than he is ; he for him. 

223. half. . . world, one half of the world to the other half ; 
by the ears, quarreling; the metaphor is that of dogs seizing 
each other by the ears. 

224. Upon my party, taking my side of the quarrel. 



176 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

231. stiff, with age : stand'st out ? do you stand aloof from 
this contest ? 

237. Right . . . priority, you being well worthy of pre- 
cedence ; the accusative after worthy, and without the prep- 
osition of, is frequent in Shakespeare. 

240. mutiners, a form similar to fiioner, muleter, enginer, all 
of which Shakespeare uses. 

241. puts well forth, shoots out, buds, abundantly. 

245. Nay, but his taunts, you speak of his lip and eyes, but 
scornful as they were, they were nothing to his taunts. 

246. Being moved . . . gods, when provoked, he will not 
hesitate to gibe even at the gods ; gird is the same as to gride^ 
to strike, pierce. 

247. Be-mock, one of the forces of he- in composition is that 
of intensifying, as here ; modest, because representing the 
chaste goddess Diana. 

248. The present . . . him ! may the war now at hand swal- 
low him up ! an imprecation. 

250, 1. success, meaning literally what follows, was in Shake- 
speare's day frequently used with such epithets as good, dad, 
best, and we still speak of ill, fair, success ; at noon, the sun 
then being vertical, a man necessarily treads on his own 
shadow. 

253. the which, " generally used either . . . where the ante- 
cedent, or some word like the antecedent, is repeated, or else 
where such a repetition could be made if desired. In almost 
all cases there are two or more possible antecedents from 
which selection could be made 1 ' (Abb. § 270). 

254. In whom . . . grac'd, with whose favors he has already 
been plentifully decked ; for who personifying irrational ante- 
cedents, see Abb. §264. 

258. giddy censure, the fickle opinion of the multitude ; 
censure, originally meaning nothing more than opinion, later 
on came to mean blame, in consequence of the greater readi- 
ness of men to form an unfavorable than a favorable opinion 
of the actions of others ; but in Shakespeare it is more frequently 
used in a neutral sense, implying neither a good nor a bad 
estimate. 

261. Opinion . . . Marcius, favorable opinion that cleaves 
so firmly to everything- that Marcius does. 

262. demerits and merits were in Shakespeare's time used 
interchangeably. 

264. his, sc. Cominius's. 

267. How . . . made, the manner in which the business of 
sending forth the troops is managed. 
267-9. and in . . . action, and anything noticeable, beyond 



sc. ii, in.] NOTES. 177 

his characteristic impetuosity and pride, in the manner in which 
he goes forth to the war. 

Scene II. 

2. ar*?enter'd expresses the present state, /$«?'£■ enter'd would 
express the activity necessary to cause that state ; for in = 
into, see Abb. § 159. 

4 6. 'Whatever . . .circumvention? What plans have we 
ever formed and been able to carry out without Rome's out- 
witting us ? 

9. press'd a power, enrolled a force. Wedgwood {Diet.) 
has shown that press'd, in the sense of " compelled to serve," 
has nothing to do with "press'' in the sense of "crush," 
'squeeze, 1 but is a corruption oiprest, ready, /;v^-money be- 
ing ready money advanced when a man was hired for service. 
" At a later period." he says, " the practice of taking men for 
the public service by compulsion made the word to be under- 
stood as if it signified to force men into the service, and the 
original reference to earnest money was quite lost sight of." 

16. Whither 't is bent, to their destination, whatever it 
may be. 

19. To answer us, to meet us in the field. 

20. great pretences, important designs. 

21. needs, of necessity; the old genitive used adverbially; 
cp. "whiles, twice (i.e. twies), etc.: in the hatching, while they 
were being brought to the birth. 

23. shorten'd in our aim, curbed in our projects. 

24. To take in, to capture. 

28, ■„■>• If they . . . army, if they should besiege us, bring up 
your army to cause them to raise the siege. 

30. They 've not . . . us, that this preparation of theirs is 
not intended against us. 

Scene III. 

2. more comfortable sort, more cheerful manner. 

8, 9. how honor . '. . person, in what way honor would 
best lend a charm to one so comely in appearance ; what kind 
of honor would be most in keeping with his look and bearing. 

12. cruel, bloody, fierce. 

13, his brows bound with oak, the oaken garland was an 
honor granted to one who had saved the life of a Roman citi- 
zen in battle and slain his opponent. It ensured the wearer a 
place next the senators in public assemblies, where all rose as 
he entered. Coriolanus obtained the garland at the battle of 
the Lake Regillus, b.c. 498. 



178 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

13, 4. I sprang . . . joy, my heart did not leap with great ex- 
ultation : a man-child, a male child, a boy. 

24. to retire myself, to retire to my own chamber. "The 
predilection for transitive verbs was perhaps one among other 
causes why many verbs which are now used intransitively, 
w r ere used by Shakespeare reflexively. Many of these were 
derived from the French ,J (Abb. § 296). 

32. mail'd hand, hand gauntleted in mail ; armor made of 
links of steel. 

33, 4. Like to . . . hire, like a laborer hired for the harvest on 
the condition that he shall get in the whole crop, or receive no 
wages for his labor ; for the transposition of or, which be- 
longs properly to to mow, see Abb. § 420. 

37. Than gilt his trophy, than the plating of gold adorns a 
monument erected to a man ; trophy, literally a monument 
erected at the spot where the enemy turned and fled. 

39, 40. when it spit . . . contemning, when, as though in 
scorn of their blows, the blood spurted from his wounds in the 
face of his foes ; the blood is spoken of as though animated 
with the contempt felt by him from whom it was drawn. 

41. fit, prepared, ready. 

48. you are manifest housekeepers, you are thorough stay- 
at-homes ; keep, in the sense of remain, abide, is frequent in 
Shakespeare, manifest, well known. 

49. A fine spot, a pretty pattern of embroidery ; so, Oth. iii. 
3. 435, " Have you not sometimes seen a handkerchief Spotted 
with strawberries in your wife's hand ? " i.e. embroidered with 
strawberries 

55. O 1 my troth, I assure you ; literally on, i.e. by, my truth : 
looked upon him, watched him playing about. 

56. has, on the omission of the pronoun before has, is, was, 
see Abb. § 400 : confirmed, resolute, determined. 

57. gilded, gay-colored. 

59-61. or whether . . .tear it, whether his tumble had made 
him angry, or what was the reason, I don't know, but, etc. 
For the superfluous or before whether, see Abb. § 136. 

61. O, I warrant ... it ! I can't tell you how viciously he 
tore it to pieces : mammock'd, mammock, a fragrant. 

64. A crack, " a slightly contemptuous phrase applied to a 
child, and used by Valeria to qualify the compliments of her 
visitor " (Wright). Grant White thinks that '* boys may have 
been so called on account of their talkative, boastful disposi- 
tions." 

65. stitchery, your stiching ; the work upon which you are 
engaged as stitchers. 

66. hus-wife, house-wife ; now used only in the corrupted 
form hussy, a pert girl. 



sc. iv.] NOTES. 179 

70. by your patience, if you will pardon me. 
73. go visit, for the omission of to, see Abb. § 349 : that lies 
in, who has just had a child born to her. 

77. want lov2, am lacking in good feeling. 

78. You would . . . Penelope, you wish to show your loyalty 
to your husband as strongly as Penelope ; who, when Ulysses 
was at the siege of Troy, and she was pestered by suitors, 
promised to make her choice among them as soon as she finished 
a web she was weaving, but, to gain time, undid at night the 
work she had done by day. 

80. I would, 1 could wish: cambric, a kind of fine white 
linen. " A corruption of Cambray, a town in Flanders, where 
it was first made'''' (Skeat, Ety. Diet.). Cp. arras, from Arras, 
in Artois ; jane, from Genoa ; frieze, from Friesland, etc. etc.: 
sensible, capable of feeling pain. 

81. leave . . . pity, cease thrusting your needle into it out of 
mere pity. 

96, 7. and so . . . us, i.e. since I have been able to give you 
news which may set your heart at rest. 

98. Give me excuse, allow me to excuse myself ; little more 
than a periphrastical way of saying "excuse me," though with 
a flavor of greater courtesy. 

100, 1. as she is . . . mirth, in her present frame of mind,, 
she would, if she accompanied us, only spoil our enjoyment,, 
which will be greater without her ; better, used proleptically. 

105. at a word, in a word. 



Scene IV. 

4. have not . . . yet, have not as yet encountered one 
another. 

5. So . . . mine, there you see, you have lost your wager. 

9. 'larum, alarum, sounding to arms ; Ital. aW arme, to 
arms ! 

10. make . . . work, help us to finish off our work here (sc. 
the taking of thciown) quickly. 

11. with smoking swords, with our swords freshly reeking 
with the blood of our slain enemies. 

12. fielded, who have taken the field for battle. 

14, 5. No, nor . . . little, no, nor any one whose fear of you 
is greater than his, and that (fear) is absolutely nothing. That 
this is what Shakespeare meant is evident ; but, as Malone has- 
shown. he constantly entangled himself in his use of more and 
less and of negatives. 

17. pound, confine as in a pound, or pinfold ; the pound is- 
an enclosure common in villages in which animals straying: 



180 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

from their owner's land are shut up until a fine is paid for their 
recovery. 

20, 21. list . . . army, you may guess from the sound of his 
drums how he has forced his way through your army, and is 
now making short work of its destruction. 

22. Their noise . . . instruction, let the fury with which, 
as the noise shows, their conflict is raging, teach us how to 
right like them. 

25. more proof, more completely impenetrable ; weapons 
are " proved ,: before being issued for sale by subjecting them 
to a greater strain than is likely to be put upon them in use. 

26. much . . . thoughts, with an audacity such as we never 
expected. 

27. Which, their so disdaining us. 

30. contagion of the south, Shakespeare frequently speaks 
of the south and the south wind as being pestilential. 

31-4. You shames . . . mile ! you disgraces to your native 
country! you herd of — (here Coriolanus breaks off without 
adding the epithet he had intended, and pours down curses 
upon them), may you be covered from head to foot with boils 
and plague-sores, so that your stench may make you loathed 
even when too far off to be seen, and your infection be borne 
from one to another in the very teeth of the wind however far 
you may be apart. 

36. Pluto and hell ! Hades, or Pluto, properly the god of 
wealth, was in Grecian mythology the ruler of the netherworld, 
the abode of the shades, or departed spirits. 

38. Mend . . . home, recover your courage and pierce their 
ranks with your charge ; home, in good earnest. 

40. make my wars, direct my onset ; look to 't, take care 
to obey my words. 

43. prove good seconds, worthily second, support, my 
efforts. 

44, 5. 'T is for . . . fliers, it is to admit us, the pursuers, 
that fortune opens them so wide, not to protect these run- 
awaj-s. 

47. To the pot, . . . him, he has gone Id certain destruc- 
tion ; cp. our colloquial phrase " out of the frying-pan into the 
fire. 1 ' 

50. who, and they. 

53, 4. Who sensibly . . . up, who though capable of pain 
shows himself less susceptible to it than his inanimate sword, 
and stands up erect and fearless even when it yields as though 
in awe. 

55. a carbuncle is originally a glowing coal, from Lat. car- 
iu7iculus^ a smalk coal; then a gem, and lastly a boil which 
-trom its fiery appearance resembles a live coal. " A name 



sc. v.] NOTES. 181 

variously applied to precious stones of a red or fiery color ; the 
carbuncles of the ancients (of which Pliny describes twelve 
varieties) were probably sapphires, spinels or rubies, and 
garnets ; in the Middle Ages and later, besides being a name 
for the ruby, the term was especially applied to a mythical gem 
said to emit a light in the dark ; in modern lapidary work the 
term is applied to the garnet when cut en cabochon, or of a 
boss form, usually hollowed out to allow the color of the stone 
to be seen " (Murray, Eng. Diet.). 

57. Even . . . wish, exactly such as Cato would have 
desired ; for to = up to, see Abb. § 187. 

59. thy sounds, the sound of your blows on the armor of 
your foes. 

61. feverous, feverish. 

62. Let 's fetch . . . alike, let us rescue him from his pur- 
suers, or stand by him to repel them ; make remain, merely 
a periphrasis for remain. 



Scene V. 

3. A murrain on 't, plague on it ! curse it ! murrain, an 
infectious disease among cattle, ultimately from Lat. mori, 
to die. 

Stage Direction, a trumpet, i.e. trumpeter ; as standard 
for standard-bearer. 

4. these movers, these fellows who are so busy ransacking 
every hole and corner for plunder. 

4, 5. that do . . . drachma, that think their time well spent 
if they can secure the smallest booty. The drachma, literally 
a handful, was a Greek coin varying in value from of d. to Is. 
3d., and a crack'd drachma, i.e. cracked so as to be uncurrent, 
would of course be worth still less. The coin is still current 
in Greece. 

6. Irons of a doit, bits of iron worth no more than a doit ; 
of, worth ; doit, a small Dutch coin, Du. duit. 

6. doublet, properly an inner garment which served, so to 
speak, as a lining or double to the outer one. Wright remarks, 
" Shakespeare dressed his ancient Romans like the English of 
his own day. In the same way he makes the English custom 
of giving to executioners the clothes of their victims as a per- 
quisite prevail in Rome." 

10. of my soul's hate, whom I hate from the bottom of my 
soul. 

u. Piercing, forcing his way through. 

12. Convenient . . . city ! a force sufficient to hold the 
city. 



182 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

16. a second course, as though fighting were as a feast to 
him ; with an allusion to the second or principal course of 
viands at a dinner. 

iS. physical, medicinal, restorative. 

21. her great charms, here charms is used in the sense of 
fascinations of beauty, but with a secondary allusion to the 
magic spells of sorcerers, witches, etc. 

22. Misguide . . . swords ! turn aside the blows of your 
enemies. 

23. be thy page, follow your footsteps, as a page follows 
his master. 

23, 4. Thy friend . . . highest ! may she be as firm a 
friend to you as to those whom she raises to the greatest 
heights of prosperity ! 

Scene VI. 

1-3. we are . . . retire, we have acquitted ourselves in the 
combat worthily of our race, neither foolishly attempting to 
maintain an untenable position, nor cowardly retreating while 
it was possible to make it good. 

5. By interims . . . gusts, at intervals and by means of 
<he wind blowing in this direction. 

16. briefly, referring to past time, is not elsewhere used by 
Shakespeare. 

17. confound, spend to such poor purpose. 

28, 9. Ay, if . . . own, yes, if the blood with which you are 
covered, as by a mantle, is your own and not that drawn from 
your foes, clip, embrace, as frequently in Shakespeare. 

32. And tapers . . . bedward, and the lighted tapers were 
being carried to conduct me to bed ; for the tmesis into bed- 
ward, = toward bed, cp. i. H. VI. iii. 3. 30, " Their. powers are 
marching unts Paris-w«r<^," i.e. in the direction of Paris. 

38, 9. Even like . . . will, just as the game-keeper with the 
eager greyhound in the leash, holding him back or letting him 
go in pursuit of the game just as he pleases. 

40. beat . . . trenches, driven you back to your own en- 
trenchments. 

42. inform the truth, gave you true information : but for 
our gentlemen, if it had not been for our gentry. 

43. The common file, the rank and file, as opposed to the 
officers ; a plague ! curse them ! tribunes for them ! they 
are a nice lot to have tribunes to protect their rights ! 

46. For the omission of so after think, see Abb. § 64. 

49, 50. We have . . . purpose, for some time we were get- 
ting the worst of the engagement and were obliged to retire in 
order to achieve our purpose. 



SC. vii., viil] NOTES. 183 

51. How lies their battle ? what is the disposition, battle- 
array, of their forces ? 

52. men of trust, most trustworthy troops. 

53. vaward, front; "another spelling of vanvuai-d or van- 
guard "-[which is from the O. F. avant-iuarde , Lat. ab ante] 
(Skeat, Ety. Diet.) : Antiates, inhabitants of Antium, an 
ancient city of Latium, about twenty miles almost direct south 
of Corioli. 

55. Their very . . . hope, the very center of their hope. 

60. And that . . . present, and that you will not delay to de- 
liver the attack at once. 

64. balm, a contracted form of balsam, an aromatic plant. 

73, 4. Let him . . . disposition, let him alone, or as many as 
are like-minded, declare by waving his sword aloft as I do, that 
such are his sentiments. 

76. Of me . . . me ? I have followed Singer in reading Of 
for Ok, though to give a stronger emphasis I have put a note 
of interrogation after sword, and repeated it after me. The 
meaning seems to be, do you by thus raising me in your arms, 
brandish me as it were your sword, the only sword you would 
use ? 

83. As cause . . . obey'd, according as the occasion may de- 
mand. 

86, 7. Make good . . . us, prove that this display of valor is 
something more than display, and you shall have an equal 
share with us in the harvest that we reap. 

Scene VII. 

1. So, very good : ports, gates. 

3. centuries, bands of a hundred men each. 

5. Fear not our care, do not doubt our being on the alert, 
being thoroughly watchful. 

6. upon 's, behind us, as soon as we are out of them. 

Scene VIII. 

2. We hate alike, your hatred cannot be greater than mine. 

3. 4. More than . . . envy, more than I begrudge you your 
fame. 

5. the first budger, the first of us to flinch. 

6. doom, sc. to perdition. 

7. Holloa . . . hare, pursue me with cries, like hunters when 
pursuing that timorous creature, the hare. 

10. mask'd, disguised : for thy revenge, if you wish to take 
your revenge for the beatings you have received at my hands. 



1 84 CORIOLANUS. [act I. 

ii. Wrench . . . highest, strain your efforts to the very- 
utmost. 

12. That was . , . progeny, must mean, as Johnson says, 
" the whip with which the Trojans scourged the Greeks," of 
your being = possessed by your, and progeny b ing<used for 
race, ancestry, the Romans claiming descent from the Trojans. 
But the expression is a very strange one : and it looks as though 
Shakespeare had confounded Hector and Achilles ; for Aufidius 
would hardly compliment Coriolanus on the prowess of his 
ancestor. 

14, 5. Officious . . .seconds, by rendering me this assistance, 
you have disgraced me, and so far from proving your own 
valor, have only shown yourselves meddlers in what does not 
concern you ; Officious, obtrusive in offering- assistance. In 
your condemned seconds, in seconding me in this accursed 
way ; In, by means of. 

Scene IX. 

3. Where senators . . . smiles, in the senate-house where 
the relation will be certain to be received with mingled grief 
and joy ; grief at what you have gone through, joy at the 
glory you have won. 

4, 5, Where great . . . admire, in assemblies of the patri- 
cians where, though at first they incredulously shrug their 
shoulders as they listen to the story, they will be certain to 
end by giving you due applause. 

6. And, . . . more, and, enjoying the sensal^on of being so 
frightened, will be eager for more details of the same kind. 

7. with . . . plebeians, like the rank-scented common-people ; 
fusty, literally, smelling of the cask, from O. Y.fuste, a cask; 
plebeians, accented on the first syllable : thine honors, the 
honors paid to you. 

8. against their hearts, in opposition to their real feelings. 
10, 11. Yet cam'st thou . . . before, in coming to take your 

share with us in the fighting here, you come as one who, hav- 
ing fully feasted, is still unsatisfied and would have more, how- 
ever small the portion to be obtained. 

12. Here is . . . caparison, Coriolanus has done all the 
fighting, our part in the business has been merely show ; ca- 
parison, fromO. Y.caparasson, . . . — Span, caparazon, a cover 
for a saddle or coach ; formed as a sort of augmentative from 
Span, capa. a cloak, mantle, cover " . . . CSkeat, lity. Diet.). 

18. his good will, that which he determinedly set himself to 
do. 

19. Hath . . . act, has placed himself on a level with me. 



sc. ix.] NOTES. 185 

19, 20. You shall . . . deserving, you shall not be allowed in 
this way to bury your great deeds in obscurity. 

2T. her own, sc. children. 

23-5. and to silence . . . modest, and to hush in silence that 
which to proclaim aloft even to the highest pinnacle of eulogy 
would be but scanty justice; vouch'd, warranted. 

29. To hear, at hearing ; for the infinitive used indefinitely, 
see Abb. § 356. 

29-31. Should they . . . death, not remembered, they would 
have good cause to fester in anger at ingratitude, and to probe 
themselves with mortal violence. To tent is to probe (a 
wound) with a tent, or roll of lint, in order to find out its ex- 
tent and to cleanse it of matter; and here instead of the sur- 
geon probing the wound in this salutary manner, the wound 
in its irritation would only induce death. 

32. good and good store, valuable ones and those in plenty. 

33. achieved, won ; " from O.F. achever, achiever, to ac- 
complish. Formed from the phrase venir a chef or venir a 
chief, to come to the end or arrive at one's object " . . . (Skeat, 
Ety. Diet:). 

39, 40. And stand . . . doing, and claim to share and share 
alike with those who were present at the action, even if they 
had no part in it. 

41-6. May these . . . wars ! may these instruments, which 
you profane by using them for the purpose of proclaiming my 
triumphs, never be allowed to sound again ! when drums and 
trumpets shall be employed in war for the purpose of flattery, 
we may well expect that courts and cities should wear one face 
of hypocritical cajolery ; when steel grows soft as the silken 
garments of the fawning hangers-on of rich men, let it (him, 
the silk) be used as a protection in battle. In 1. 46 the folios 
give an Overture. Those who retain an Overture (reading 
them for him), explain, " let these drums and trumpets be 
used as a prelude for wars." Now Shakespeare elsewhere uses 
overture only as = disclosure, communication, or as = pro- 
posal, offer ; and in the contemporary dictionaries the word is 
found only in these and kindred senses, not in the modern 
sense of a prelude, or piece of music at the opening of a con- 
cert, opera, etc. I have therefore ventured in the place of 
07'erture to read armature, a word in use in Shakespeare's 
time, both literally and figuratively. I have also for the sake 
of the rhythm inserted is after as in 1. 45. But I believe there 
is fas Lettsom suspected) a further corruption in 1. 44 To 
mate the contrast really forcible, we need instead of Made 
some such word as Cleansed, Purged, Freed, Stripped. 

44. soothing, flattery, cajolery. 



1 86 CORIOLANUS. [act i. 

45. parasite, a trencher-friend, a hanger-on ; literally one 
who eats beside another at his table. 

47. For that . . . wretch, because, forsooth, I have not 
stopped in the thick of the battle to wash my nose when it 
have got the better of some puny fellow. 

48. without note, without anyone noticing them and think- 
bled, or ing it necessary to trumpet forth their praises. 

■ 51, 2. As if . . . lies, as though I were fond of having my 
poor merits fed upon praises seasoned with exaggeration. 

53. your good report, the good report made about you. 

54. give you truly, paint vou in your true colors; by your 
patience, with your permission. 

56. his proper harm, injury to himself ; Lat. profirius, own. 

59. Wears . . . garland, has earned and justly wears the 
chief glory of this war. 

64. Caius Marcius Coriolanus, the first is the prcenomen 
peculiar to the individual ; the second, the nomen, or nomen 
gentilicium, or name of the clan to which he belonged ; the 
third, the agnomen, or name, or title, added on (the addition 
of 1. 66) given as an honorary distinction. Such agnomina 
were sometimes given, as here, by one general to another, 
sometimes by the army and confirmed by the general in chief, 
sometimes by the people assembled in public, and sometimes 
were assumed by the person himself. 

68. fair, no longer smeared with blood and dirt. 

69. howbeit, how be it, however it oe. 

71, 2. To undercrest . . . power, worthily, so far as I am 
able, wearing as a crest or distinctive badge the title you have 
been pleased to confer upon me ; crest, literally, the comb or 
tuft on a bird's head, then the " cognizance " worn on the top 
of the Helmet to distinguish the wearer, now only an armorial 
bearing. 

76. The best, " the chief men of Corioli " (Johnson) ; artic- 
ulate, enter into negotiations, an article being a clause in a 
stipulation. 

77. I shall, " when a person speaks of his own future actions 
as inevitable, he often regards them as inevitable only because 
fixed by himself " (Abb. S 318). 

79. bound, obliged, destined. 

83. cried to rne, sc. when he was being carried off prisoner 
by the Roman soldiers. 

Scene X. 

2. on good condition, on fair terms. 

4, 5. for I cannot . . . am, for being a Volscian and there- 
fore obliged to submit to terms, my former proud independ- 
ence is at an end. 



sc. i.] NOTES. 187 

6, 7. "What good . . . mercy ? there seems to be a mixture 
of meanings here between " what good quality can a treaty 
find in those who lie at the mercy of the victors so as to trea't 
them well," and " what good terms can a treaty find in behalf 
of those that lie," etc. 

12, 3. mine emulation . . . had, my rivalry with him is no 
longer of that honorable nature it once was : where, whereas. 

14. I thought . . . force, I hoped to meet him in hand to 
hand conflict without any adventitious aid, and overcome him; 
for in, see note on i. 8. 15. 

15, 6. I'll potch . . . him, I will seek his life, just as eagerly 
by secret assassination as by open combat ; potch, '" to thrust, 
poke . . . Merely a weakenecTform of poke, just as pitch is of 
pick, stitch of stick, etc." (Skeat, Ety. Diet.): get, = lay 
hold of. 

18, 9. for him . . . itself, and on his account shall abandon 
its natural character : nor sanctuary, from old times the per- 
son of a man who had taken reluge in a sacred building was 
inviolable. 

21. times of sacrifice, when the commission of murder 
would be doubly heinous. 

22. Embarquements . . . fury, any of which should be suf- 
ficient to put a curb upon fury ; Span, embargo, seizure, arrest. 

22-4. shall lift . . . Marcius, shall have power to assert their 
musty privilege in opposition to the hatred I bear to Marcius ; 
rotten, antiquated, to him no longer time-honored : where, 
wherever. 

26. Against . . . canon, in the teeth of the law of hospitality 
which makes a guest a sacred person. 

30. attended, expected, awaited, by friends. 

31. 'T is south . . . mills. Wright remarks : " It is worth 
while observing, as an indication that in such cases of local 
coloring Shakespeare had probably London in his mind, that 
in the year 1588 the Mayor and Corporation of the City peti- 
tioned the Queen that they might build four corn mills on the 
river Thames, near the bridge, and the masters of the Trinity 
House certified that the erection of these mills ' on the south 
side of the Thames upon the Starlings above the bridge ' 
would breed no annoyance. The ' city mills ' therefore in 
Shakespeare's time were close to the Globe Theatre," i.e. the 
theatre in which Shakespeare's plays were brought out. 

Act II. Scene I. 

1. augurer. An augur was a priest at Rome who inter- 
preted the will of the gods from the flight and singing of 
birds ; though in later times auguries were derived from various 



1 88 CORIOLANUS. [act II. 

other signs than those given by birds. The augurs did not 
foretell future events, but simply announced that certain signs 
were favorable or unfavorable, and taught what was to be 
done or not to be done. 

6. who does . . . love ? do you mean to s?y that the wolf 
loves anyone? For instances of the uninfiected who, see 
Abb. § 274. 

8. Ay, to devour him, in one way he may be said to love 
him, the way of devouring him. 

11. lives like a lamb, lives as peaceable and harmless a life 
as, etc. 

14, 5. In what . . . abundance ? is there any great fault o 
which Marcius has some small share in which you two do not 
richly abound ? For instances of the double preposition, see 
Abb. § 407- 

20. censured, estimated : of, by : o' the . . . file, us the 
aristocrats ; probably with an allusion to the fact that the 
Government party in the House of Commons sit on the right 
hand of the Speaker. 

23, 4. Because . . . angry ? since you were just speaking of 
pride, you won't be angry at what I am about to say, will 
you ? 

25. Well . . . well, said with great impatience at the idea of 
being taken to task. 

26, 7. Why . . . patience, there's no need for you to be so 
crusty, it is but a trifle I was about to mention ; though for 
that matter it is evident that the smallest provocation is- 
enough to exhaust your patience pretty wed. 

32. I know . . . alone, Menenius, catching up the words, 
pretends to understand them in the s>ense of doing' a thing of 
their own motion, unaided. 

33. single, with a play on the word in the senses of (1) alone, 
(2) silly, purposeless. 

35-7. O that . . . selves ! " with allusion to the fable which 
says that every man has a bag hanging before him, in which 
he puts his neighbors 1 faults, and another behind him in 
which he stows his own 11 (Johnson). 

40. testy, headstrong ; O. F. teste, head, mod. F. tete. 

43. humorous, light-hearted, merry ; full of quips and 
jests. 

44. with not . . . Tiber, without a drop of water to qualify 
it ; Steevens points out that Lovelace, in his Verses to Alt/tea- 
from Prison, has borrowed this expression, " When flowing 
cups run swiftly round With no allaying; Thames." 

45. 6. said to be . . . complaint, commonly reported to have 
the failing of deciding in favor of the first complainant, with- 



sc. I.] NOTES. 189 

out waiting to hear the other side ; tinder-like, quick to catch 
fire : motion, provocation, incitement. 

49. spend . . . breath, though perhaps too ready to fly into 
a passion, yet forgetting my anger immediately : wealsmen, 
such careful guardians of the public welfare ; said sarcastic- 
ally, of course. 

50. I cannot . . . Lycurguses, I wish I could say you are as 
wise as Lycurgus, but I can't ; Lycurgus, the celebrated Spar- 
tan lawgiver. 

52-4. I can 't say . . . syllables, when I find the mark of the 
ass so conspicuous in your conversation, I can't pretend to 
compliment you on the wisdom of your pronouncements. 

56-9. If you see . . . too ? if what I have described myself 
as being is evident to you, does it follow that I, like you, am 
well known to every one ? further, if I am well enough known, 
what is there in this character of mine that your purb.ind 
vision can discern as being objectionable ? The old man is 
much nettled by the taunt that he is well enough known, and 
dwells on it with angiy iteration, map of my microcosm, 
i.e. the little world of a man's nature seen in his appearance, 
as the material world is seen in a map: bisson, M. E.bisen, 
purblind, ^4. S. bisen ; conspectuities, a coinage of Shakes- 
peare's from Lat. conspectus, sight. 

62. ambitious . . . legs, you think it a fine thing to have 
poor wretches taking off their caps and bowing low before 
you. 

64. orangewife, an old crone who sells oranges : fosset- 
seller, a seller of trifles like spigots to be inserted in casks ; 
now spelt faucet. 

64, 5. and then . . . audience, and then adjourn to a further 
hearing a trumpery cause of dispute, a dispute that any sensi- 
ble man would settle in five minutes ; rejourn, Lat. re-, back, 
and O. F. jornee, Mod. F ' .journee. a morning. 

68. mummers, maskers, buffoons; from "O. F. momiuezir, 
a mummer . . . The origin is imitative, from the sound mum 
or mom, used by nurses to frighten children, like the E. bo ! 
See Wedgwood, who refers to the habit of nurses who wish to 
frighten or amuse children, and for this purpose cover their 
faces and say mum J or bo ! whence the notion of masking to 
give amusement" . . . (Skeat, Ety. Diet.), set up . . . patience, 
declare war against all patience, utterly scout the idea of 
listening with any patience. 

69. dismiss . . . bleeding, send the disputants way without 
any attempt to heal their quarrel. The metaphor from war is 
carried on. 

73~5- y° u are well . . . Capitol, everyone knows that you 
have a much better right to a seat at a dinner table, where 



igo CORIOLANUS. [act ii. 

your sallies of wit are welcomed, than to a seat on a bench of 
justice, where your decisions are laughed at. 

76. Our very . . . mockers, even our priests, whose office 
implies the most solemn gravity of countenance, will be un- 
able to resist laughing. 

83. since Deucalion, since the flood; Deucalion, king of 
Phthia in Thessaly, and his wife, Pyrrha, were on acount of 
their piety saved in a boat when during a nine days' flood Zeus 
destroyed the race of men in consequence of the impiety of 
Lycaon, king of Arcadia. 

83, 4. though ... hangmen, even though one should pay 
you the extravagant compliment of supposing that some of 
them held so high a position as that of hereditary hangman. 

84. God-den, good evening, farewell ; literally God give you 
good even. 

84, 5. your worships, giving them the title with ironical 
courtesy. 

96. Take . . . Jupiter, " he throws up his cap into the air, 
Jupiter being especially the god of the sky" (Wright): and I 
thank thee, and my gratitude also. 

107. sovereign, supremely efficacious : Galen, the famous 
Greek physician, a native of Pergamum, a.d. 130; of course an 
anachronism : empiricutic, Ingleby acutely suggests that 
this word "belongs to a very definite class of misprints, which 
we may call duplicative . . . This is an error . . . [which] exem- 
plifies the tendency of writers and compositors to repeat some 
syllable in a word which is susceptible of two forms of spell- 
ing : as, in this case, with a qu, or a ck." 

108. to this, compared to this : of no better report, not 
worth more than : a horsedrench, what we now call a bran- 
mash, a mixture of malt or bran with hot water, given to sick 
or overworked horses. 

113, 4. brings a' . . . pocket ? Menenius speaks as though 
victory so completely belonged to Marcius that he carried it 
about with him, as he would carry his handkerchief in his 
pocket ; a', both a and ha are found in Old English and were 
used not only for he, but for she, it, they: become, suit,, 
adorn. 

115. On 's brows, not in his pocket, says Volumnia, humor- 
ously correcting Menenius,- out on his forehead, where he 
wears the chaplet of oak leaves. 

121. an, see Abb. § 101 : stayed by him, continued to face 
him : fidiused, beaten as he would have beaten Aufidius. 

128. there 's, for the inflection in .? before a plural subject, 
see Abb. § 335. 

132. pow, wow, pooh, pooh ; nonsense, there 's no doubt of 
that. 



SC. I.] 



NOTES. 191 



139. his place, the consulship which he expects to obtain: 
in the . . . Tarquin, in the battle of the Lake Regillus fought 
against Tarquinius Superbus, who was expelled in conse- 
quence of his various acts of despotism, and more than once 
with the aid of the Latins and the Etruscans endeavored to 
regain his throne. 

145, 6. every gash . . . grave, for every wound he re- 
ceived, he slew an enemy. 

147. These are . . . Marcius, these trumpets are the cus- 
tomary heralds of Marcius's approach; ushers, O. F. uzssier, 
Lat. ostiarius, a door-keeper. 

149. nervy, sinewy. Grant White believes 11. 149, 50 to be 
spurious, and they certainly do not sound like Shakespeare. 

Stage Direction, sennet, a particular set of notes on the 
trumpet or cornet; origin unknown. 

153. to, in addition to : these, sc. names. 

164. But, O, thy wife ! but see, here is your wife to wel- 
come you : My gracious silence, abstract for concrete ; 
gracious, lovely : hail, health to you; a common salutation; 
A. S. hael, health. 

169. And live you yet ? said jestingly to his faithful old 
friend; pardon, sc for his not having greeted her before. 

173. light and heavy, joyous and sad ; joyous at seeing 
those returned, sad at missing so many that went forth to the 
war. 

176. should^ought to : dote, be fond even to foolishness. 

177, 8. We have . . . relish, there are among us certain 
sour-tempered old fellows that will not be brought to be in 
sympathy with you ; will not assimilate with you as a tree 
which is grafted with a new variety assimilates its fruit to 
that of the graft inserted in its stem. 

181. Menenius ever, ever, always the same humorous old 
fellow ; ever himself. 

185. change of honors, variety of honors ; as change of 
raiment, among the writers of that time, signified variety of 
raiment. 

187, 8. To see . . . fancy, to see my dearest wishes granted 
and the castles I built in the air become substantial realities. 

193. the bleared sights, dim-sighted old men. 

194. Are spectacled, have put on their spectacles : your, 
for this colloquial use of your, see note on i. 1. 118. 

195. a rapture, a paroxysm, fit. Ingleby accepts the con- 
jecture rupture, and supports it by quoting Phioravante's 
Secrets, 1582 ; but it is difficult to believe that Shakespeare 
would employ such coarse realism. 

196. kitchen malkin, kitchen wench, scullery maid ; mal- 



192 CORIOLANUS. [act ii. 

kin, •'■ The diminutive of Mai (Mary), a contemptuous term 
for a coarse wench " (Dyce, Gloss.). 

197. Her richest lockram, her finest neck-kerchief; lockram, 
" a cheap kind of linen — F. locrenan . . . named from the place 
in Brittany where it is manufactured " . . . (Skeat, Ely. 
Diet.): reechy, begrimed with the smoke of the kitchen; a 
weakened form of reeky. 

198. stalls, outside shops, in which goods were exposed for 
sale; bulks, frameworks projecting from the front of a shop, 
much the same as stalls. Stalls are still seen on market-days, 
though generally in the open market-place. 

199. Are smother'd up, are crowded so as to be completely 
hidden; leads, the leadroofed tops of houses; ridges, the 
wedge-shaped roofs, as oppposed to the flat ones : horsed, be- 
stridden. 

201. seld-shown, that seldom show themselves in public ; 
seld, according to Skeat, an adverbial form from a Teutonic 
adjective selda, = rare, strange, found in such compounds as 
seld-cuth. rare, seld-szne, seldom seen. 

202. among . . . throngs, i.e. which on ordinary occasions 
they would have shunned as contaminating them : puff, are 
out of breath from their exertions. 

203. a vulgar station, a standing place such as those occu- 
pied by ordinary spectators. 

203-6. ourveil'd dames . . . kisses, our high-born ladies, 
usually so careful to shade their faces, now in their excitement 
risk ruining their complexion by going about in the bun with- 
out their veils ; nicely-gawded, daintily adorned, sc. with 
pink and white. 

206. such a pother, such is the turmoil, excitement. 

207-9. As if . . . posture, as if that god, whoever it be 
that attends him through life, had cunningly made himself in- 
carnate in Marcius and endowed him with every grace of 
movement; human powers, the capabilities which he as a 
man possesses. The idea that men were accompanied through 
life by good and evil spirits is a very old one, and is several 
times alluded to by Shakespeare. 

209, 10. On the sudden . . . consul, on the spur of the 
moment, carried away by enthusiasm at his exploits, they 
will, without doubt, elect him to the consulship. 

212, 13. He cannot . . . end, it will be impossible for a man 
of his nature to bear from first to last the honors laid upon 
him, without giving way to an arrogance which will cause a 
revulsion of feeling against him, 

214-19. Doubt not ... do 't, you may be assured that the 
plebeians, whom we represent, prompted by their former ill-will 
towards him, will, if the least cause be given, speedily forget 



SC. I.] 



NOTES. 193 



that they have laid these new honors upon him; and that he 
will give them such cause is as certain to my mind as that his 
pride would enjoy doing so. 

221. Appear i' the market-place, present himself in the 
forum, as it was customary for candidates to do when can- 
vassing for votes. 

222. The napless . . humility, the threadbare toga worn 
by candidates to signify that they humbly sought the approval 
of the electors. " For the custom of Rome was at that time, 
that such as did sue for any office, should for certain days be- 
fore be in the market-place, only with a poor gown on their 
backs, and without any coat underneath, to pray the citizens to 
remember them at the day of election; which was thus de- 
vised, either to move the people the more by requesting them 
in such mean apparel, or else because they might show them 
their wounds they had gottten in the wars in the service of the 
commonwealth, as manifest marks and testimonies of their 
valiantness " (Skeat, Shakespeare 's Plutarch, p. 14). 

225. miss it, lose it, etc., the consulship. 

226, 7. but by . . . npbles, unless the gentlefolk entreated 
him to accept the horior, and the nobles expressed a like desire. 

230, 1. It shall . . . destruction, such a procedure on his 
part, like our efforts in the same direction, will be certain to 
ensure his ruin ; good wills, earnest endeavors. 

231, 2. So it . . . authorities, such (viz. ruin) must be the 
result either to him or to ihe exercise of our powers : For an 
end, as a means to effect our object 

234. stilk ever : to 's power, up to his power, so far as his 
ability went; see Abb. §187. 

236. Dispropertied their freedoms, stripped them of such 
privileges as were particulaly their own. 

237. In human . . . capacity, so far as concerns any capac- 
ity to act like men. 

239. provand, from " F . provende, provender ... — Lat. 
praebenda, a payment ; in late Lat. a daily allowence of pro- 
visions . . . Feminine of praebendus, passive future participle 
olpraebere, to afford, give " (Skeat, Ety. Die). 

252. scarfs and handkerchers, here our author has attribu- 
ted some of the customs of his own age to a people who were 
wholly unacquainted with them: handkerchers, a corrupted 
form of handkerchiefs, a word made up of hand, and F. 
couvre chef, covering for the head. 



[94 CORIOLANUS, [act II. 



Scene II. 

3. of every one, by every one ; see Abb. § 168. 

4. carry it, succeed ; it, used indefinitely. 
7. Faith, assuredly; literally, in faith. 

13. in their disposition, of their real character ; in, = 
about: out of ... carelessness, as a consequence of that 
magnanimity which does not allow itself to be troubled with 
trifles. 

16, 7. 'twixt . . . harm, a confusion of constructions be- 
tween " 'twixt doing them good or harm" and " 'twixt two 
courses, with the result of doing them neither good nor 
harm." 

19. may fully . . . opposite, may show in the plainest pos- 
sible manner that he is an enemy to them. 

21. to flatter them, namely, flattering them. 

23. as those, as that of those. 

24. bonneted, took off their caps with humble gesture. 
24-6. without . . . report, unlike a hero such as Marcius, 

having performed no exploits to bring them into honor with 
the people, and purchase their good report. 

Stage Direction. Lictors, public officers who attended 
on the chief Roman magistrates. They had to inflict punish- 
ment on condemned persons, to enforce proper respect's being 
shown to a magistrate passing by, to clear the road, etc. As a 
symbol of their office they carried fasces, rods bound in the 
form of a bundle, and containing an axe in the middle, the 
head of which was turned outwards. 

34. of, in regard to. 

44, 5. to remember . . . himself, to show our remembrance 
of his exploits by paying him the honors he has so worthily 
won. 

46-8. make . . . out, by your relation of his services lead us 
to think it is rather that the resources of the state are inade- 
quate to reward him than that we are wanting in the will to 
make those rewards extend commensurately to his deserts. 

49-51. and after . . . here, and afterwards, after hearing 
what we have to say, to use your most persuasive efforts with 
the people to ratify what meets with the assent of this assem- 
bly. 

51, 2. We are . . . treaty, the agreement we are called to- 
gether to consider is a pleasing one to us. 

54-7. Which the rather ... at, and to this inclination (to 
honor Marcius) we shall be all the more ready to yield if he 
on his part will be mindful to show that he has a more gener- 
ous estimate of the people than he has hitherto evidenced. 



sc. II.] NOTES. 195 

57. That 's off, that 's off, that 's nothing to do with the 
matter. 

60. more pertinent, sc. to the matter; more in point. 

68. disbench'd you, caused you to leave your seat. 

70. You soothed . . . not, you used no flattery, and there- 
fore did me no harm. 

72. one . . . sun, i.e., sit doing- nothing - . 

73. when the . . . struck, when the signal for battle was 
sounded. 

74. To hear . . . monster'd, to hear my poor endeavors 
magnified into something extraordinary. 

75-8. Your multiplying . . . hear it? how can you expect 
him to flatter this countless fry, the people, of whom not one 
in a thousand is worth anything, when you see that he would 
rather risk breaking his every limb in the pursuit of honor 
than expose one of his ears to the torture of listening to a nar- 
rative of his deeds. The addition of multiplying intensifies 
the scorn of the expression. 

85. made a head, raised a force. 

86. our then dictator, for then, used as an adjective, see 
Abb. § 77 . 

88. Amazonian chin, beardless chin. 

89. bestrid, stood over to protect. 

92. struck . . . knee, struck him to his knee; struck him a 
blow that brought him on his knees. 

95, 6. His pupil age . . . thus, he in his minority having 
thus enrolled himself as a man. 

98. He lurch'd . . . garland. A writer in the Ed. Rev* 
says, " Shakespeare evidently uses the verb hirch literally 
to devour eagerly, ' ravin up,' gulp down, and in the second- 
ary sense to seize violently upon, rob, engross, absorb." In 
this sense, he says, the word was used, among others, by 
Bacon and Milton; and after quoting from Warner, "Hence 
country-louts land-lurch their lords," and "when Spayne 
would sceptres lurch,'''' he adds, " To lurch all swords of the 
garland, means therefore not only to rob all swords of the gar- 
land, but to carry it away from them with an easy and victori- 
ous swoop." 

100. I cannot . . . home, I cannot describe his valor in any 
adequate terms of praise. 

104, 5. his sword . . . took, his sword, which was as the 
stamp of death ; wherever it made its impression, did so fa- 
tally. 

107. Was timed . . . cries, the cries of the dying kept time 
with each motion of his. 

108. The mortal gate, the gate round which death was 
raging. 



196 CORIOLANUS. [act ii. 

108, 9. which he painted . . . destiny, Coriolanus set his 
bloody mark upon the gate, or upon the city, indicating that 
it was his by an inevitable fate, as plague-stricken houses were 
painted with a red cross. 

in. like a planet, the supposed malignant influence of 
planets is frequently referred to in Shakespeare : now all 's 
his, the speaker puts himself into Coriolanus's position at the 
time of receiving the re-inforcement, when he might be im- 
agined to exclaim, " Now all 's mine ! " 

113. His ready sense, his hearing so quick to take in all 
sounds of fighting : straight, straightway, in an instant. 

114. Re-quicken'd. . . fatigate, put fresh life into such bodily 
energies as had become fatigued ; the primary sense of quick 
is living, lively ; fatigate, weary. 

115-7. where he did . . . spoil, Coriolanus is compared to a 
continuous stream of blood, which marked the course of his 
slaughtering sword. 

118. stood, paused. 

120, 1. He cannot . . . him, whatever the honors we may de- 
vise for him, they are certain to fit him, as though they were a 
garment for which he had been measured. 

124. misery, avarice ; abstract for concrete. 

124, 5. rewards . . . them, finds sufficient reward for his 
deeds in doing them. 

125, 6. and is . . . it, and thinks of nothing but getting to the 
end of the time he has to spend in such work. 

137. Must . . . voices, must be allowed to give their votes in 
the election : bate, abate, consent to forego. 

138. jot, the smallest portion ; Gk. iota, the letter z, the 
smallest in the Greek alphabet : Put them not to 't, do not 
drive them into a strait by refusing to follow the usual custom. 

146. for the hire, in order to obtain the loan. 

147. breath, voices in his favor : stand upon 't, insist upon 
being allowed to dispense with the usual custom. 

148. 9. We recommend . . . them, we in all kindness com- 
mit to you the duty of making known to the people our'wishes 
in the matter. 

153-5. He will . . . give, he will ask them in a manner as if 
he scorned their being in a position to grant that which he 
desires of them. 

157. attend, await. 

Scene III. 

Stage Direction. The Forum, originally only a market- 
place, as it is called in this play, was a space of open ground 
between the Capitoline hill and the Velian ridge, used for 



sc. in.] NOTES. 197 

public assemblies. As Rome became larger, several other fora 
were built, as the Forum Julium, the Forum Augusii, etc. 

1. Once, once for all. 

4, 5. We have . . . do, '■'■power first signifies natural power y 
ox force, and then moral power, or ?-zght' n (Johnson). 

13, 14. And to make . . . serve, and it will not take much to 
make him call us monsters : once we stood, once when we 
stood. 

15. stuck not, did not hesitate. 

20, 1. and their consent . . . compass, and the only agree- 
ment they would show would be to disagree as widely as the 
points of the compass are asunder. 

25. 't is strongly . . . block-head, there is no escape for an 
idea out of a head so dense. 

29. rotten, proleptically used for causing things to rot. 

29, 30. for conscience sake, being ashamed .to leave you 
utterly bare of sense ; for the possessive case ending in -ce 
written without the apostrophe with -.y, see Abb. § 471 : to- 
help . . . wife, i.e. for which very little wit is required. 

33. to give your voices, sc. in favor of Marcius. 

40.- by particulars of us separately. 

40, 1. wherein . . . honor, for in that way each one has indi- 
vidually the honor of giving, etc. 

43. go by him, pass in front of him. 

45. you are not right, you are in the wrong in wishing to 
dispense with the ordinary practice. 

47, 8. I cannot . . . pace, I cannot bring my tongue to use 
such mincing gait. 

53. To think upon you, to give you their favorable con- 
sideration. 

54, 5. I would . . . 'em, I wish they would forget me as they 
do those virtuous principles which are only thrown away upon 
them when preached to them by our divines ; 'em, not a con- 
traction of them, but representing the old heom, hem, dative 
and accusative plural of he. 

68. we hope . . . you, we hope for something in return. 

69 your price, the price you put upon your bestowal of the 
consulship. 

72. shall be . . . private, shall be shown to you when we 
are alone. 

76. your alms, i.e. since he was acting as a beggar. 

78. An 't were . . . again, if one had to be asked for one's- 
vote again ... (I should refuse mine). 

79. stand with, be in accord with. 

85, 6. You have . . . friends, if on the one hand you can 
claim the credit of having been a scourge to her enemies, you 
have on the other the discredit of being a rod, etc. 



ig8 CORIOLANUS. [act ii. 

89. common in my love, ready to give my love to any who 
sought it. • 

89, 90. my sworn brother, " an expression originally de- 
rived from the fratres jurati, who in the days of chivalry 
mutually bound themselves by oath to share each other's for- 
tune " <Dyce, Gloss.): estimation, esteem. 

91. a condition . . . gentle, to do so is to show a disposition 
which they consider amiable. 

91-4. and since . . . counterfeitly, and since they in their 
wisdom think more of the outward signs of courtesy than of 
real love, I will study to ingratiate myself with them by courtly 
bows, and will take off my cap to them with the best affecta- 
tion of deference. 

101. I will not . . . them, I will not confirm your knowledge 
of the wounds I have received b5^ giving you ocular proof of 
them ; the seal being necessary to give 'validity to a document. 

105. Most sweet voices ! said, of course, in bitter irony. 

108. woolvish, reference to the fable of the wolf in sheep's 
clothing. 

109. Hob and Dick, i.e. every common fellow that has a 
vote'; as we say colloquially " Every Tom, Dick, and Harry " ; 
Hob, short for Robert, Dick, for Richard: that do appear, 
that make their appearance here. 

no. needless vouches, testimony to my merit of which I 
stand in no need. 

112. The dust . . . unswept, we should be leaving the dust 
to gather on the records of old time so that its character would 
be forgotten ; time is spoken of as if it were a volume so 
covered with dust that no one would care to take it down from 
its shelf. 

116, 7. I am . . . do, suddenly changing his tone, Marcius 
«ays, "Ihave submitted to so much that I may as well go 
through with the matter "; cp. Macb. iii. 4. 138, " I am in blood 
Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were 
as tedious as go o^r." 

118. moe, originally moe, or mo, referred to number ; 7nore, 
to size. 

122. and heard of, or at ail events heard of ; here, as in two 
dozen odd, some less, some more, Marcius is indulging in 
the sarcastic self-depreciation which he so enjoys in his inter- 
course with the plebeians. 

131. stood your limitation, stood in the forum for the pre- 
scribed time to solicit their votes ; gone through the prescribed 
ordeal of canvassing the people. 

133. official marks, consular insignia. 

134. Anon, at once ; on an, in one (sc, instant) : Is this 
done ? is this matter completed ? 



III.] 



NOTES. 199 



136. admit, accept as consul. 

137. upon your approbation, for the confirming of their 
choice. 

145. 'T is warm at 's heart, it makes his heart glow with 
satisfaction. 

146. With a proud . . . weeds, though he brought himself 
to put on the humble dress of a candidate, his heart beats as 
proudly as ever beneath it ; weeds, frequent in Shakespeare for 
garment, now used only in the expression " widow's weeds,'''' 
i.e. widow's mourning apparel; from A.S. weed, and wcede, 
a garment, 

150. deserve your loves, prove himself worthy of the love 
shown by you in giving him your votes. 

153. flouted, jeered at ; from " O. Du. fluyten, to play the 
flute, also to jeer, impose upon " . . . (Skeat, Ety. Diet.); used 
by Shakespeare both transitively and intransitively. 

161. aged custom, Warburton points out that consular gov- 
ernment was less than twenty years old. 

166. I have . . . you, I have no further need of you. 

174. I' the . . . weal, in the commonwealth of which you are 
members : and now arriving, and now that he has arrived at ; 
the preposition of motion to or from is frequently omitted in 
Shakespeare. 

180, 1. so his . . . voices, that he was similarly bound to 
show consideration for you in return for the votes given by 
you. 

182. Translate, transform. 

184. had touch'd, would have acted as a touchstone to test, 
etc. 

185. his inclination, how he was disposed towards you: 
pluck'd, compelled him to give. 

187. As cause . . . up, whenever circumstances made it 
ecessary to do so. 

189, 90. Which easily . . . aught, which is very averse from 
being bound by any stipulations ; article, see note on i. 9. 77. 

191, 2. You should .'. . unelected, you should have made 
his anger a pretext for refusing to elect him. 

193. in free contempt, with undisguised contempt. 

197, 8. or haa . . . judgment ? or why did you give him your 
votes in opposition to the dictates of prudence? 

201. Your sued-for tongues, your voices for which othei 
candidates are so reaay to sue. 

204. of that sound t speaking to that tune. 

208-10. make them . . . so, allow them no greater freedom 
•of making tnemserves heard than dogs that are as often beaten 
for barking (unnecessarily) as kef t to bark (against thieves). 



200 CORIOLANUS. [act h. 

212. Your ignorant election, the choice you have so igno- 
rantly made ; erforce, dwell forcibly upon; lay stress on. 

215. but your loves but say that your great good-will 
towards him. 

216, 7. took . . . portance, prevented you from properly ap- 
preciating his behavior towards you ; portance, carriage, 
bearing. 

218. ungravely, with utter want of dignity. 

219. After, in accordance with. 

221. Throw blame upon us, saying that we strove hard, al- 
lowing nothing to hinder our purpose, to compel you to choose 
him ; but that you must, with no other object than that you 
should be driven to, etc.; but is redundant, and Wright points 
out that its insertion is due to the preceding parenthetical 
clause. 

22Q. How youngly, at what an early age. Abbott ( § 23) 
points out that while in Elizabethan English adjectives were 
freely used as adverbs, on the other hand -ly was occasionally 
added to words fiom which we have rejected it. 

232. Ancus Marcius, fourth of the seven kings of Rome, 
Numa Pompilius being the second, and Tullus Hostilius the 
third. 

236, 7. And . . . censor, the text is that given by the Cam- 
bridge Editors, except that I have followed Dyce in reading 
" who was nobly natnd so" instead of "nobly natned so." 
The passage in Plutarch which Shakespeare had in his mind is 
one in which be speaks of both the ancestors and the descend- 
ants of Coriolanus ; and, as Pope points out, Snakespeare, 
not noticing this, includes among the ancestors Publius and 
Quintus, who lived more than three hundred, and Censorinus. 
who lived two hundred, years after Coriolanus. The office of 
Censor was regarded as the highest dignity in the state, ex- 
cept the dictatorship, and its duties included the registration 
of the citizens and their property, the care of public morals, 
and the administration of the finances cf the state. Caius 
Marcius Rutilus was appointed Censor in b.c. 294 and again in 
b.c. 265, in which latter year he brought forward a law enact- 
ing that no one should be chosen Censor a second time, and 
received in consequence the surname of Censorinus. 

239, 40. wrought . . . place, strove by noble deeds to make 
himself a claim to a high position in the state. 

242. Scaling, weighing; putting into the scale, balance. 

244. sudden, hasty, rash. 

246. presently, at once : drawn your number, got together 
a sufficient number of your fellows. 

249, 50. This mutiny . . . greater, it is better that we shouici 



SC. I.] 



NOTES. 



at once run the risk of provoking this mutiny now than await 
a greater risk, which we may be sure we shall have to face. 

252, 3. observe . . . anger, watch and profit by the oppor- 
tunity which his anger will give. 

Act III. Scene I. 

t. made new head, got together a fresh force. 
3. composition, coming to terms. 

6. worn, exhausted by warfare. 

7. in our ages, in our lifetime. 

9. On safe-guard, under a safe-conduct ; on an assurance 
that no harm should happen to him. 

10. for, because. 

15, 6. he would . . . restitution, he would pawn everything 
that belonged to him, all his wealth, beyond all hope of ever 
redeeming it. 

23. prank them, dress themselves out. 

24. Against . . . sufferance, beyond all that can be endured 
by any one with the least feeling of nobility. 

29. pass'd, passed the ordeal of candidature. 

30. Have I . . . voices ? were the votes given to me those of 
children incapable of knowing their own minds? 

35. 'What . . . offices ? what is the use of your being ap- 
pointed as their leaders and protectors, if you have no control 
over them ? 

36. why rule . . . teeth ? why do you not prevent their snarl- 
ing in this way? 

38. It is . . . plot, this behavior of theirs is no mere accident, 
but has been plotted and planned. 

40. Suffer 't and live, if you endure it you will have to live. 

47. sithence, " M.E. sithens, with the addition of the ad- 
verbial -j to the old form sithen, from A.S. siththan . . . after 
that ... a contraction from sith than, put for sith dam, after 
that ". . . (Skeat, Ety, Diet.) : How ! I inform them ! what ! 
do you suppose that I should be likely to tell them? affecting 
virtuous indignation. 

49. to better yours, to improve upon your way of doing 
things. 

50. Why then . . . consul ? if so, I have no right to be con- 
sul. 

51. 2. Let me . . . tribune, if you find me deserving as ill of 
the state as you do, I will consent to the disgrace of being a 
colleague of yours : that, sc. intolerance. 

53. For which . . . stir, which causes the people to rise up 
in rebellion against your power. 



202 CQRIOLANUS. [act hi. 

54. bound, ready to go ; from Icel. btiinn, prepared, ready; 
here used figuratively. 

54, 5. you must . . . spirit, you must act with much greater 
moderation than you now display; are out of, have missed, 
gone astray from. 

58. abus'd, misled, deceived ; literally to turn away from the 
proper use : set on, instigated to their present behavior : pal- 
tering, shuffling. 

60. dishonor'd rub, dishonoring obstacle ; dishonor'd, the 
passive participle employed for the termination in -ing ; the 
figure is from the game of bowls, in which anything that di- 
verts the course of the bowl is called a " rub." 

64. My nobler friends, as for my, etc. 

67, 8. Regard . . . themselves, " let them look in the mirror 
which I hold up to them, a mirror which does not natter, and 
see themselves " (Johnson). 

70. The cockle of, the vile weed consisting in. In Shake- 
speare's time the word " Cockle " was becoming restricted to 
the Corn-cockle (Lychnis githago), but both in his time, 
and certainly in that of the writers before him, it was used 
generally for any noxious weed that grew in cornfields, and 
was usually connected with the Darnel and Tares. 

73, 4. but that . . . beggars, except in so far as we have 
made it over to beggars. 

78-80. Coin words . . . them, exhaust themselves in coin- 
ing abusive terms against those leprous scabs by which we 
scorn to be infected, but at the same time have invited infec- 
tion; those measles, those scabby rogues. Skeat says that 
measles here is not leprosy, and the origin of the word is the 
Du. maselen, originally meaning spots, while the M.E. mesel, 
a leper, is a word borrowed from O.F. mz'se/, from Lat. misel- 
lus, wretched, a diminutive of miser, wretched. 

82. of their infirmity, of like weakness with themselves. 

85. patient as the midnight sleep, calm as sleep in the 
deep stillness of midnight. 

89. this . . . minnows, this fellow who so lords it among the 
small fry of the mob ; Triton, son of Poseidon and Amphi- 
trite, dwelt with his father and mother in a golden palace at 
the bottom of the sea; and the Tritons when mentioned in 
poetry are represented as blowing horns at the command of 
Poseidon to still the waves ; minnows, one of the smallest 
river fish in England. 

90. absolute, peremptory : 'T was . . . canon, his words 
were such as he was not authorized to use; from, contrary to. 

93. Hydra, a monster with nine heads, of which the middle 
one was immortal, ravaged the country of Lernae near Argos. 
Hercules struck off its heads with his club; but in place of each 



SC. I.] 



NOTES. 203 



head cut off, two new ones grew forth. With the help of his 
servant Iolaus, Hercules burnt off the eight mortal heads, and 
buried the ninth, or immortal one, under a huge rock. 

95-7. wants not . . . his ? has the audacity to say that he will 
dam up the current of your power, and turn his muddy stream 
into the channel that was yours ; in plain language, will arro- 
gate to himself the powers that belong to you; in, into. 

101. Let them . . . you, let them bench by your side. 

101-4. You are . . . theirs, it is you who are plebeians, if 
such fellows as these till the place of senators ; and they do 
fill that place when, " the voices of the senate and the people 
being blended together, the predominant taste of the com- 
pound smacks more of the populace than the senate " (Malone). 

108. It, such a state of things. 

109. are up, assert themselves. 

in, 2. May enter . . . other, may during the struggle force 
its way to the possession of power, and use the two contend- 
ing parties as instruments of each other's destruction. 

117, 8. fed . . . state, fed a disease which was certain to be 
fatal to the state. 

120. More worthier, for the double comparative, see Abb. 
§11. 

121. Was . . . recompense, was not a recompense made to 
them by us for anything they had done (but merely a free gift). 

123. Even when . . . touch'd, even when the state was in 
vital danger, was touched to the very center. 

124. thread the gates, pass through the gates on military 
service. 

127-30. the accusation . . . donation, while the accusation, 
entirely without foundation, which they have so often brought 
against the senate, was not likely to induce us to be of our own 
accord so generous. 

131, 2. How shall . . . courtesy ? how is this multitude, so 
blinded with passion, certain to interpret the kindness shown 
them by the senate ? bisson, purblind, M.E. bz'sen, blind, pur- 
blind. 

132, 3. Let deeds . . . words, let us judge of what their 
words would be from what their actions have been. 

• 133-5- "We did . . . demands,' 1 they would be sure to say, 
"We claimed this donation ; and, as the patricians knew we 
far outnumbered them, they granted it out of mere fear, not 
from any noble motive "; poll, head, then a register of heads, 
a list of persons ; Thus, by such weak generosity. 

137. which, and such weakness. 

141, 2. What may . . . withal ! may everything in heaven 
and on earth that may be sworn by give confirmation to my 
concluding words ! 



204 CORIOLANUS. [act hi. 

142-8. This double . . . slightness, this divided power and 
authority,— when one party disdains with good cause, while 
the other is insolent without reason ; where those who have 
on their side high birth, rank, wisdom, can enforce no decision 
unless it be in accord with popular ignorance, — must necessa- 
rily omit to deal with real wants, and for the time being yield 
to, be content to display, vacillation and weakness: worship, 
literally worikship, dignity: all, = any. 

148, 9. purpose . . . purpose, all determination being thus 
put out of the question, it follows as a consequence that noth- 
ing pertinent to the difficulty can be done. 

150-2. You that ... on 't, " you whose zeal predominates 
over your terrors ; you who do not so much fear the danger of 
violent measures as wish the good to which they are necessary, 
the preservation of the original constiiution of our Govern- 
ment " (Johnson). 

153, 4. and wish . . . physic, and are ready to run a risk by 
administering a dangerous medicine to, etc. This seems to be 
the only meaning if jump is genuine. 

157-9. your dishonor . . . become 't, the discredit you suf- 
fer, from the inroad made upon your power, paralyzes your 
use of sound judgment, and robs the state of that integrity of 
action which ought to be an ornament to it. 

161. For, in consequence of: control, limit, hamper. 

165. what should . . . tribunes ? what possible good can 
the people derive from such old fools as these tribunes ? bald 
is used of foolish prating. 

166, 7. On whom . . . bench, trusting to whom, they fail in 
their obedience to those higher in authority, of greater dignity. 

173. sediles, originally, as here, assistants of the tribunes, 
entrusted with mere ministerial duties ; in later times their 
office was of a much higher and more extended nature, such 
as the superintendence of public buildings, the care of the 
public lands, police functions, etc. : apprehended, seized. 

175. Attach, arrest : innovator, " in Shakespeare ' innova- 
tion ' is not only change, but change for the worse " (Wright). 

177. to thine answer, to pay the penalty of your, etc. 

178. surety him, be sureties for his appearance at the proper 
season : hands off, remove your hands from my shoulder. 

181. respect, moderation of language and action. 

190. Confusion's near, in a moment everything will be in a 
state of utter ruin. 

190, 1. You . . . people ! you are nice fellows to be tribunes 
to the people ! 

194. at point to lose, on the very point of losing. 

206. which yet . . . ranges, which so far stands in orderly 
arrangement, as contrasted with heaps and piles of ruin. 



sc. I.] NOTES. 205 

208. stand to, assert and maintain. 

213. the rock Tarpeian, part of the Capitoline hill, so called 
from Tarpeia, daughter of Sp. Tarpeius, the governor of the 
Roman citadel, who was bribed by the Sabines to open its 
gates to them, and being crushed to death by them as they 
entered, was buried there. 

220. cold, deliberate, passionless. 

231. All . . . else, otherwise everything will be ruined. 

233. Shall it . . . that, do you wish matters to come to a 
mere question of strength ? 

236. You cannot tent yourself, you cannot cure yourself by 
probing ; see note on i. 9. 31. 

239. litter'd. a term properly applied to animals only : so in 
the next line, calv'd not only imputes to the populace that 
they are mere animals but animals of a most timid nature. 

242. One . . . another, another time will make up to us for 
the present. 

244. Take up, meet, cope with. 

245. odds beyond arithmetic, the odds against us are be- 
yond all calculation. 

248. the tag, the rabble ; cp. J. C. i. 2. 260, " If the tag-rag 
people did not clap him and hiss him. 11 A tag is properly a 
point of metal at the end of a lace, thence in the' phrase tag- 
rag the meaning is appendage and shred. A further form is 
tag-rag-and-bobtail, where bobtail means the short, bunchy 
tail of a cur. 

249. interrupted waters, waters whose course has been 
dammed up ; o'erbear, sweep away. 

250. to bear, i.e. on their current ; vessels, etc. 

251. wit, good sense : be in request, is likely to be appre- 
ciated. 

252. patch'd, mended. 

256. for. in order to gain. 

257. His . . . mouth, that which he feels he must give utter- 
ance to. 

259. does, sc. he does ; for this ellipsis of the nominative, see 
Abb. § 399. 

262. What, the vengeance, why, curse it ! Here it is the 
obstinacy of Coriolanus that Menenius is especially angry at. 

265. Be every man himself, arrogate all power to himself. 

268-70. And therefore . . . naught, and therefore law shall 
scorn to give him any further trial than the utmost rigor which 
can be exercised by that power of the people which he so de- 
spises and defies. 

275. cry havoc, to cry havoc was, in battle, to give the signal 
for general slaughter; the origin of the word havoc is uncer- 



206 CORIOLANUS. [act hi. 

tain ; some authorities deriving- it from A.S. hafoc, a hawk ; 
others, from W. havoc, destruction. ' 

276. With modest warrant, with justifiable moderation. 

286. peremptory, firmly resolved ; dispatch, put an end to; 
literally to dispose of speedily ; from O.F. desfiecher, to hasten, 
send away speedily. 

288. our danger, a danger to us. 

292, 3. is enroll'd . . . book, is recorded in heaven: dam, 
usually as*here, of the mother of animals, but in reality nothing 
more than the F. dame, lady. 

297. Mortal . . . off, \thich it would be fatal to cut off. 

302. to lose . . . country, if it were to be shed by, etc. 

304. A brand, a mark of infamy by which w T e should be 
branded : clean kam, literally wholly crooked. 

305. Merely awry, utterly away from the point ; awry, i.e. 
on wry, on the twist. 

306-8. The service . . . was, if this speech, which Warbur- 
ton would give to Sicinius, belongs to Menenius, it must be 
ironical ; and mean, when a limb becomes mortified, we of 
course cease to think of the good service it has rendered us in 
former days ; gangren'd, an eating sore. 

310. his infection, the disease with which he is infected. 

313. The harm . . . swiftness, the harm that results from, 
unconsidered haste ; to scan is literally to climb, to ascend 
point by point, then to count the measures in a poem, to 
scrutinize. 

315. parties, factions : as he is beloved, he being so be- 
loved. 

317. What . . . talk ? what is the use of talking. 

322. bolted, carefully considered ; literally, sifted. 

326. to 's utmost peril, the most dangerous charges that can 
be brought against him. 

328, 9. and the end . . . beginning, the consequence will be 
something upon which it is now impossible to calculate. 

334. In our first way, as we at first intended to do. 

Scene II. 

1. pull . . . ears, the figure is that of pulling down a build- 
ing upon some one, as Samson pulled down the temple of Gaza 
upon the Philistines. 

2. the wheel, an instrument of torture in which the body 
of the victim was bound on a wheel which was then rapidly 
whirled round: at wild horses' heels, a barbarous method of 
execution in which the limbs of a man were attached to two 
chariots which were then driven in different directions, thus 
tearing the body asunder. 



sc. ii.] NOTES. 207 

6. thus, as unyielding as before. 

7. muse, wonder. 

8. approve me further, more cordially sympathize with my 
behavior towards the people: wont, accustomed; past parti- 
ciple M. E. wenen, to dwell, be accustomed to. 

9. woollen vassals, coarse-clad-slaves ; vassals, literally 
dependants ; according to Skeat, of a Celtic origin, Bret. gwaz,. 
a servant ; Latinized in Low Latin as 7'assallus. 

10. groats, fourpenny pieces : to show bare heads, to 
stand uncovered. 

17, 8. I would . . . out, I should have wished that you had 
become accustomed to your power before you used it so 
roughly as to ruin it ; the figure is that of puttingon a garment 
and quickly wearing it out by rough usage : Let go, never 
mind. 

20, 1. lesser . . . dispositions, your inclinations would have 
met with less opposition. 

26. mend it, mend matters ; it, used indefinitely. 

26, 8. There's no . . . perish, there is no cure for what has 
happened, unless you call this a cure that, by our acting differ- 
ently our city should go to ruin. 

29-31. I have . . . vantage, my heart is not more easily im- 
pressed (by fear) than yours, but my brain teaches me when I 
give way to anger to turn it to better account. 

32-4. Before . . . state, rather than that he should so lower 
himself as to make terms with the populace, if it were not 
that the desperate state of affairs urgently calls upon him to 
do so for the general welfare: violent fit o' the time, par- 
oxysm of madness from which the time is suffering. 

39. absolute, peremptory, positive. 

40, 1. Though . . . speak, though, except when circum- 
stances of the most critical nature forcibly urge conciliation, 
the firmer you are, the greater is your honor ; speak, make 
itself heard in calling out for something. 

42, policy, stratagem, craft. 

43. grow together, flourish hand in hand. 

43~5- te ll me • • • there, tell me how in time of peace either 
can be so injured by combination with the other as to make it 
necessary to keep them apart : A good demand, a very perti- 
nent question. 

47. The same . . . not, something different from what you 
really are. 

47, 8. which . . . policy, a line of action that in order best 
to secure your object you adopt as your policy : less or 
worse, less honorable or baser. 

49. it, sc. policy. 



208 CORIOLANUS. [act hi. 

53. not . . . instruction, not according to an}' dictates of 
your own conscience. 

55. roted, learnt by rote ; rote, from " O. F. rote, Mod. F. 
route, a road, way, beaten track . . . Hence by rote = along a 
beaten track, or with constant repetition "... (Skeat, Ety. 
Diet.). 

64, 5. I am . . . nobles, in this matter you must look upon 
me as standing for your wife, etc. 

66-9. And you . . . ruin, and you obstinately prefer to 
show our rabble how terribly you can frown than to flatter 
them in such small degree as will be sufficient to win their 
love and ensure safety to that which without their love is 
likely to be utterly ruined. 

70-2. you may . . . past, by doing so you may not only 
cure what is dangerous in the present, but also make up for 
the reverse already sustained ; Not, followed by but, in the 
sense of not only. 

74. And thus ... it, and having stretched out vour hand, 
with your cap in it, in this way; here she indicates the manner 
by a gesture. Grant White explains having stretch'd it 
as having stretched his disposition: here be with them, at 
this point salute them with a courteous gesture, a sweeping 
bow. 

75. bussing, kissing, i.e. lightly touching ; the word had 
not in former days the idea of coarse familiarity which it now 
implies. 

77-80. waving . . . them, courteously bowing your head to 
them, and, by doing this repeatedly, correcting your i-tubborn 
heart, which by this time will have become as soft as a mul- 
berry, so ripe that it will not bear handling, — say to them, etc. 

88, 9. For they . . . purpose, for they are just as ready to 
pardon a wrong as to talk after their usual foolish manner. 

91. in, into. 

93-5. 'tis fit . . . absence, it will be well either to take with 
you a strong party of your friends, or to seek safety in moder- 
ation of language, or by absenting yourself from the scene. 

99. unbarbed sconce, unprotected head, bare head ; sconce 
is used in Shakespeare in three different senses, first for head, 
as here ; second, for a rounded fort ; third, for what protects 
or covers the head, a cap or hood. 

102. this single plot, his body. 

105, 6. You have . . . life, you have forced me now to un- 
dertake a part which I shall never perform with any natural 
grace. 

113. Which . . . drum, which has been used to sound in 
harmony with, etc.; quire, a band of singers, is only another 



sc. in.] NOTES. 209 

spelling- of ckoir, from Lat. chorus, a dance in a ring, a band 
of dancers and singers. 

116. Tent, may the smiles encamp: take up, occupy. 

117. The glasses . . . sight, my eye-balls. 

119. Who, this personification of an irrational antecedent 
occurs constantly ; see Abb. § 264 : stirrup, properly sty-rope, 
a rope to climb by. 

121. surcease, cease ; the substantive surcease is from the 
F. sursis. the past particle of surseoir, to pause, intermit. 

125-7. Come . . . stoutness, though utter ruin be the con- 
sequence, let the worst come that can come ; let me rather 
bend beneath your unyielding pride than stoop to any fear of 
the dangers which your stubbornness may bring down upon 
us. 

132. mountebank their loves, cajole them out of their 
good-will ; a mountebank is one who mounts on a bench to 
hawk his goods. 

133. Cog . . . them, cheat them out of their affection. 

143. by invention, with any crimes they may invent. 

144. In mine honor, according to whatmy honor dictates. 

Scene III. 

I. charge him home, press him so strongly that he will not 
be able to escape : affects, aims at. 

3. Enforce . . . people, lay stress upon the hatred he bears 
to the people ; envy, malice. 

9. procur'd, made sure of by canvassing. 

10. Set . . . poll, registered man by man. 

II. by tribes, the Roman plebs were divided by Servius 
Tullus into thirty tribes, four for the city, and twenty-six for 
the country around Rome. 

12. presently, at once, without delay. 

14. I' the right . . . commons,' as the rights and powers 
of the commons dictate. 

17. prerogative, right, privilege ; the Latin adjective from 
which the word comes was used of the tribe that was first 
called upon (by lot) to give its vote in the elections. 

18. And power . . . cause, and the might which the justice 
of our cause gives us. 

26, 7. to have . . . contradiction, to have his full allowance 
of contradiction ; to be allowed to contradict as he pleases. 

29, 30. which looks . . . neck, which is likely, with what we 
shall do, to bring him to his death. 

32. ostler, groom ; originally the keeper of a hostelry, or 
inn, then the servant who takes care of the horses at an inn: 
for the poorest piece, for any trifle of money. 



210 CORIOLANUS. [act hi. 

33. will bear . . . volume, will endure abuse {i.e. being 
called knave) to any extent. ' 

36. Throng . . . peace, fill our temples with crowds of citi- 
zens peacefully celebrating some glorious event. 

43. Must . . . here ? may I take it for granted that I shall 
not again be called upon for my defence ? determine, come 
to an end. 

45. Allow their officers, acknowledge the authority of us 
who have been chosen by the people as their representatives 
and guardians. 

46. censure, sentence, and here = condemnation. 

50,1. which show ... . churchyard, which bear testimony 
to his valor as tombstones in the churchyard to the virtues of 
those beneath them. 

51, 2. Scratches . . . only, here, as before, Marcius is irri- 
tated at the idea of his brave deeds being trumpeted forth. 

57. Rather . . . you, rather than such as show ill-will to- 
wards you. 

59. with full voice, with general assent. 

64. all season'd office, such official control as has been tem- 
pered by time and use. 

67. your promise, remember the promise you made us. 

68. fold-in, envelop, wrap as with a garment. 

72. both numbers, the twenty thousand and the millions. 

73. free, unreserved, outspoken. 
75. the rock, sc Tarpeian. 

79. stokes, physical force. 

80. even this, this alone, without any further acts. 

83. What . . . service, what business has a fellow like you 
to be chattering of service ? 

85. You ? with intense scorn ; you, a fellow who has never 
dealt a blow in war, do yott think you have a right to talk on 
such a subject as my services ? 

87. I'll . . . further, I'll listen to no more remonstrances. 

89. Vagabond exile, banishment which involves wandering 
about on the face of the earth : pent to linger, a sentence 
which means my being immured in prison to drag out a weary 
existence. 

92,3. Nor check . . . morrow,' nor put restraint upon my 
freedom of speech for anything they can grant, even if it was 
to be had for merely saying ' Good morning' : For that, be- 
cause. 

95. Envied . . . people, shown hatred by railing against the 
people. 

96. as now at last, as finally he has just now. 

97. not, not merely. 

101. banish . „ . city, " verbs of ablation, such as ' bar,' 



sc. I.] NOTES. 211 

' banish,' ' forbid,' often omit the preposition before the place 
or inanimate object " (Abb. § 198). 

102. In peril of precipitation, at the risk, if he should dare 
to show his face in Rome, of being flung' down. 

114, 5. her womb's . . . loins, i.e. my children. 

117. but, except that. 

120. You common . . . curs, you pack of worthless hounds. 

123. my air, the air I breathe ; I banish you, it is not you 
who banish me, but I who, by quitting Rome, banish you. 

124. And here remain, and do you here remain ; as though 
he had condemned them to remain. 

129. which finds . . . feels, which can be stung into per- 
ception only by bitter suffering. 

131. Still, ever. 

132. Abated, humbled ; crushed into a state of abject 
humility. 

134. For you, on your account, you being a part of it. 

Act IV. Scene I. 

2. butts me away, pushes me out ; as a goat butts at its 
enemies. 

7-9. fortune's blows . . . cunning, when the blows of mis- 
fortune strike us with most deadly force, it is then that to bear 
them with calmness demands the exercise of the noblest wis- 
dom ; a confusion of construction due to change of thought ; 
cunning, = skill, knowledge. The word originally meant 
nothing more than knowing, from A.S. cunnan, to know. 

14. the red pestilence, " three different kinds of the plague- 
sore are mentioned by the physicians of the time ; the red, the 
yellow, and the black " (Schmidt). 

18. labors, the twelve labors imposed by Eurystheus upon 
Hercules when bidden by the Pythian oracle to serve that 
monarch in atonement for having killed his own sons in a fit of 
madness. 

32. 3. Thy tears . . . eyes, i.e. it is harder for you to have 
to weep than for a younger man : sometime, former. 

26. fond, foolish ; as very frequently in Shakespeare. 

30, 1. that his . . . seen, who, from the fact of his hiding" 
himself away in his marshy retreat, is more feared and talked 
of than if he showed himself more frequently. Marcius 
means that by going into banishment, he, far from being for- 
gotten and despised, will be more talked of and more feared 
than if he were to be seen daily in the city. 

32, 3. 'Will or exceed . . . practice, will show himself 
something more than an ordinary man, unless he falls a prey to 



212 CORIOLANUS. [act iv. 

crafty wiles and plots; cautelous, the Lat. cautela, diminutive 
of cautio (originally a law term meaning a caution, security), 
indicates the pettiness of the caution which degenerates into 
suspicion, and so into shiftiness : practice, plot, stratagem, 
underhand contrivance. 

33. My first son, noblest and most eminent of men. 

36, 7. More than . . . thee, more definite than that of reck- 
lessly exposing yourself to every mischance that may suddenly 
show itself in your path ; exposure is not elsewhere met with, 
and many editors follow Rowe in reading exposure ; chance, 
in a bad sense. 

40, 1. if the time . . . repeal, if circumstances should sud- 
denly give us an opportunity for recalling you ; we shall not 
send, we shall not be sending, shall not have to send. 

49. friends of noble touch, friends whose nobleness has 
been tested and proved ; an allusion to the touchstone used in 
testing the precious metals. 

53, 4. That's . . . hear, and that manner of your life is as 
noble as words can express. 



Scene II. 

2. whom we . . . sided, a confusion of constructions be- 
tween ' who we see have sided, 1 and ' whom we see sided.' 

11. the hoarded . . . gods, such plagues as the gods have 
hoarded up to inflict on those that deserve their special ven- 
geance. 

13. If that . . . hear, if tears did not hinder my speech, you 
should, etc. 

16. mankind, Sicinius uses the word in the sense of mascu- 
line, violent, ferocious, a sense in which it was applied to wild 
beasts also; Volumnia takes it in the more natural sense of 
belonging to the human race. 

17. Note . . . fool, just listen to this idiot. 

18. foxship. The ordinary attribute of the fox, cunning, is 
from the speaker's point of view quite applicable. 

23. Nay . . . too, but no, I have changed my mind, and you 
shall stay to hear what I have to say. 

28. Good man, . . . Rome ! to think of the services which 
he, noble man that he is, has rendered to his country ! 

31, 2. and not . . . made, and had not undone the noble 
work he had done by his behavior to the commons. 

37- g et y° u g° ne » be off with you as fast as you can. An 
idiom ; that is to say, a peculiar form of expression, the prin- 
ciple of which cannot be carried out beyond the particular 
instance. 



sc. in., iv.] NOTES. 213 

43. baited, worried, as wild animals are worried; bait is the 
causal of bite. 

47. unclog, disencumber, free. 

48. to 't, near it : You have . . . home, your words have 
pierced their thick hides, 

52, 3. and lament . . .Juno-like, and let your grief be ex- 
pressed in anger such as that to which I, Juno-like, give vent ; 
Juno, the imperious wife of Jupiter. 

Scene III. 

4, 5. my services . . . 'em, my services, like yours, are now 
directed againt my countrymen. 

8, 9. but your . . . tongue, your identity is proved by your 
voice; appeared, made to appear; favor, appearance, used 
by Shakespeare both of the face and of the figure. 
• 16. in the heat . . . division, while the dissensions among 
them are still in a blaze. 

zi. This lies glowing, the fire of their discord is still alive, 
and ready to blaze up. 

26. The day . . . now, now is the opportunity for them (sc. 
the Volscians). 

31. He cannot choose, he (sc. Aufidius) cannot help appear- 
ing to advantage now. 

37, 8. the centurions . . . entertainment, the centurions 
and those under them, at the various quarters assigned to 
them, being already enrolled; centurions, men in command 
of a century, or company of a hundred men; distinctly, sepa- 
rately ; billeted, literally provided with the billet or ticket 
which ensured them quarters in the house to which they were 
told off ; entertainment, in this military sense. 

Scene IV. 

3. 'fore my wars, in the presence of the wars I have made ; 
when confronting us in the battles I have fought in Corioli. 

6. puny battle, such as it would be a disgrace to fall in : 
Save you, a courteous form of salutation shortened from 
' God save you.' 

8. lies, dwells. 

12. O world, . . . turns ! O world, how sudden are your vi- 
cissitudes, how quickly men pass from one thing to another ! 
Warburton remarks, " This fine picture of common friendship 
is an artful introduction to the sudden league which the poet 
made him enter into with Aufidius, and no less artful an apol- 
ogy for his commencing enemy to Rome. 1 ' 



214 CORIOLANUS. [act iv. 

22. And . . . issues, "allow their children to intermarry"' 
(Wright). 

23. my love 's upon, my love is given to. 

Scene V. 

1. What service is here, what lazy fellows are they that 
are in attendance here ? 

5. goodly, imposing in appearance : smells well, is appe- 
tizing. 

12. companions, scurvy fellows ; as frequently in Shake- 
speare. 

23. avoid, get out of. 

31. Follow . . . bits, follow your usual vocation, that of 
feasting on scraps from your master's table. 

32. will not, sc. take yourself off. 

36. canopy, Egyptian bed with mosquito curtains, from a 
Gk. word meaning a gnat, mosquito. 

40. I' the city . . . crows, in the open air. 

42. daws, chattering fellows ; the jackdaw, magpie, etc., 
being regarded as types of empty talkativeness. 

45. Thou . . . and pratest, you are only wasting your time 
in chattering in this way: serve . . . trencher, serve in the 
food on your dish, do that which you are paid for ; trencher, 
properly a wooden plate for cutting things on, from F. 
trencher^ to cut. 

47, 8. but for . . . within, if I had not been afraid of dis- 
turbing, etc. 

58, 9. though . . . vessel, though your attire is so wretched, 
your looks are noble. 

68-70. a good . . . bear me, which may well put you in 
mind, and stand in attestation of, the hatred you are bound to 
feel towards me; memory, memorial. 

71. envy, hatred. 

76. out of hope, owing to any hope. 

80. To be full quit, with the' object of fully revenging my- 
self. 

82. A heart of wreak, a heart animated by resentment. 

83, 4. maims Of shame, dishonoring losses ; the losses con- 
stituting the shame. 

go. to prove . . . tired, you are too weary to make trial of 
further hazards; to further risk what fortune may have in store 
/or you. 

97. but to thy shame, except with the result of shame to 
you. 

105. My grained ash, the hard-grained staff of my lance; 



sc. v.] NOISES. 215 

ash, being- a very tough wood, is much employed for the han- 
dles of tools, as it was of old for those of weapons. 

106. clip, embrace ; as frequently in Shakespeare. 

107. the anvil of my sword, which has been to my sword 
what the anvil is to the iron that is hammered and shaped on it. 

115. Bestride my threshold, step over my hreshold when 
first entering it as her home. Steevens points out that a Ro- 
man bride, on her entry to her husband's house, was lifted 
over the threshold, lest she should even touch it with her foot. 

116-8. Once more does not mean that he had done so before, 
but that he was once more to make the attempt, and either 
succed in it or perish; target, a diminutive of targe, a shield; 
brawn, muscie, hence muscular arm ; out, thoroughly. 

119. several, distinct, different. 

124. to Rome, against Rome. 

144. Yet . . . much, and yet it was no slight enmity I bore 
you. 

157. simply, in a word : rarest, most wonderful. 

162. Nay, . . . that, it does not matter whom I mean ; I am 
not going to say whom I mean. 

164. neither, used by Shakespeare after^a negative expressed 
or implied, where we should say either. 

172, 3, I had . . . man, I would just as soon be a man con- 
demned to death ; had as lieve, should hold as dear ; lieve, 
A.S. led/, lid/, dear, pleasing. 

180, 1. Come . . . him, come, as fellow-servants and good 
friends we may say among ourselves what we really think; 
and so I do not hesitate to admit that Marcius was always 
more than a match for our master. The Second Servant, who 
a short while before had asserted that Aufidius was worth six 
of Marcius, now that he finds which way the wind is blowing, 
and that he need not be afraid of being betrayed to his master, 
turns round and admits that after all his master was no match 
for Marcius. 

182,3. directly, without ambiguity: to say .. . on't, to 
speak the truth about it. 

183. scotch'd, to scotch is to cut with narrow incisions ; the 
nption, says Skeat, being taken from the slight cut inflicted by 
a scutcher, or riding whip. 

184. carbonado, a piece of meat cut crossways for broiling, 
a rasher ; the word, which is originally Spanish, means nothing 
more than meat broiled, from Spanish carbon, charcoal. 

189-91. no questions . . . him, so far from venturing to 
show any doubt in their welcome by putting questions to him, 
the senators stand bareheaded in his presence. 

191, 2. makes : . . him, treats him with the devotion he 
would show to the woman he loved. 



216 CORIOLANUS. [act iv. 

iq2. sanctifies . . . hand, " considers the touch of his hand 

as holy " (Malone). 

192, 3. turns up . . . discourse, listens with rapt attention to 
everything he says. 

193. the bottom, the conclusion and most important part. 

195, 6. by the . . . table, all the nobles present voting him an 
equal share in the command with Aufldius. and entreating him 
to accept the offer; by the entreaty and grant, what gram- 
marians call the figure hysteron proteron, the latter part before 
the former part, ' the cart before the horse,' as we say colloqui- 
ally. 

196, 7. sowl . . . ears, to seize a swine by the ear. 

198. passage, way to Rome : polled, swept clear before 
him; literally cropped, shaven. 

204. directitude, Malone conjectures that the servant means 
discreditude. 

207. in blood, with his blood up for the fight, full of spirit ; 
burrows, holes in which to shelter themselves ; the term ap- 
plied to the holes of rabbits: merely a variation of borough. 

208. conies, rabbits : revel . . . him, take part with him in 
all the wild delight of slaughter. 

210. presently, immediately. 

211-3. 't is . . . lips, the execution of this business is, so to 
speak, but an incident in their feast, and a thing to be finished 
off before they rise from the table. 

215, 6. This peace . . . ballad-makers, the only result of 
this peace is, that swords grow rusty, tailors become more 
plentiful (men having time to pay attention to their dress), 
and that, for want of better occupation, numbers turn ballad- 
makers. 

218, 9. it 's sprightly . . . vent, the writer in the Ed. Rev, 
in the number for Oct. 1872, defends the reading of the folios, 
sprightly walking, and interprets full of vent as a metaphor 
from hunting. '"Vent," he says, "is a technical term in hunt- 
ing to express the scenting of the game by the hounds em- 
ployed in the chase . . . when the hound vents anything, he 
pauses to verify the scent, and then full of excitement, strains 
in the leash to be after the game that is thus perceived to be 
afoot. To strain at the lyam or leash ' upon good vent ' is in 
Shakespeare's phrase to be ' full of vent,' or in other words 
keenly excited, full of pluck and courage, of throbbing energy 
and impetuous desire, in a word, full of all the kindling stir and 
commotion of anticipated conflict." At present mulled is gener- 
ally used of wine boiled with sugar and spices. But this modern 
sense Skeat says is due to a total loss of the original sense of 
the word. " The older term is mulled ale, a corruption of 
muld-ale or mold-ale, literally a funeral ale or banquet . . . 



sc. vi.] NOTES. 217 

Cp. Lowland Scotch mulde-mete, literally mould-meat, a fu- 
neral banquet. 11 

222. The wars . . . money, I am all for war, in favor of 
war. 

223. as cheap, held in no more estimation ; They, Aufidius 
and his guests. 

224. In . . . in, we must attend to our duties, not be found 
talking here. 

Scene VI. 

2-4. His remedies . . . hurry, in the present peaceful state 
of things the efforts of his friends to remedy his misfortunes, 
which were a short time ago so vigorously made, have been 
entirely dropped : His, used objectively, not the remedies he 
would apply to the state of things, but the remedies which his 
friends endeavored to apply on his behalf. 

5. Blush . . . well, ashamed to find that things go well 
without his help ; the world, Rome, the orbis terrarum in the 
opinion of the Romans. 

7. Dissentious . . . streets, gangs of mutinous fellows fill- 
ing the streets and interrupting all business. 

9. friendly, adverb, in a friendly way. 

10. "We stood . . . time, it is lucky we made our stand wheo 
we did ; it, used indefinitely. 

11. kind, courteous, friendly. 
13. but with, except by. 

32. affecting . . . throne, aiming at individual despotism. 

33. "Without assistants, without assistants, associates ; the 
abstract for the concrete. 

34. by this, sc. time: to all our lamentation, to the bitter 
grief of us all. 

39. Reports, who reports. 

41. the deepest . . . war, the fiercest cruelty that war can 
display; i.e. sparing nobody and nothing. 

45. inshell'd, like the horns of a snail. 

53. your information, again the abstract for the concrete. 

62-3. and more . . . deliver'd, and more reports, and those of 
a more terrible character, have been brought in. 

67. as between, as that which is between. 

72. atone, be made one, be reconciled ; from at and one. 

80. made good work, brought about a pretty state of affairs. 

82. the city leads, the lead with which the roofs of your 
houses are covered. Shakespeare is of course thinking of Eng- 
lish houses. 

83. to your noses, before your very faces. 



218 CORIOLANUS. [act IV. 

85. in their cement, as they stand strongly held together by 
their mortar. 

86. Your franchises. . .stood, those privileges of yours about 
which you made such a fuss, on exercising which you insisted 
so strongly. 

86-7. confined . . . bore, narrowed down to nothing ; an 
auger's bore, the small hole which an auger (awl) would make; 
auger, a corruption of nauger, like adder, properly naddere, 
umpire, properly numj>ire,ih& initial n- being absorbed by the 
indefinite article. 

96. your apron-men, your wretched mechanics. 

96-8. that stood . . . garlic-eaters, who attached so much 
importance to the opinions and demands of artisans and the 
rabble who delight in such stinking food as garlic. 

100. Did . . . fruit, an allusion to the plucking of the fruit in 
the garden. of the Hesperides, guarded by a dragon — the elev- 
enth labor imposed upon Hercules by Eurystheus. 

103. Do smilingly revolt, are only too glad to revolt : who 
resist, any who resist. 

104, 5. Are mock'd . . . fools, are merely jeered at for their 
stupid display of bravery, and rewarded for their foolish con- 
stancv by being slaughtered. 

109. for shame, on account of shame. 

in. for, as regards. 

112. they charged, they would, in so doing, be urging. 

117. You have . . . hands, you have made a nice business. 

118. have crafted fair, have shown a fine ingenuity ; with 
a play upon the word craft in the sense of occupation, indus- 
try. 

119. 20. such as . . . help, more incapable of being cured than 
any trembling ever was. 

122. your clusters, your rabble who thronged the city in 
mutiny. 

124. They'll . . . again, so they will shout, though in a differ- 
ent key, when he returns a triumphant conqueror of them- 
selves. 

131. hooting at, in the act of expressing your delight by 
hooting. 

134. coxcombs, literally the tuft on the head of a cock, and 
hence used ludicrously or contemptuously for head. 

143-5, an d though . . . will, if these words in which the 
citizen labors to excuse himself are not intended to be merely 
eelf-contradictory, they may mean " though at the instigation 
of the tribunes we readily gave our assent to his banishment, 
we were persuaded to do so contrary to our inclinations." 

147. cry, pack : Shall 's, i.e. us for ive. 

150. side, party. 



sc. vii.] NOTES. 219 

Scene VII. 

3, 4. Your soldiers . . ..end, instead of saying grace before 
and after meat, they have no words but of him 

5. you are darken'd, your reputation is eclipsed. 

7, 8. Unless, . . . design, except by resorting to measures 
which would cripple our purpose. 

11. In that's no changeling, is but consistent; a changeling 
is a child who has been substituted in the craddle by fairies, or 
witches, for another child. 

13. I mean . . . particular, I mean as far as your individual 
good is concerned. 

18. his account, the account which, sooner or later, he will 
have to render of his conduct. 

26. our account, the reckoning which will have to be made 
between us. 

28. sits down, i e. to besiege them. 

32. in the repeal, in recalling: him home. 

34, 5. who takes it . . . nature, who captures it by the im- 
perious fascination with which nature has endowedihim. A 
reference to the fabulous power attributed to the osprey of fas- 
cinating the fish on which it preys. Of course the pow r er attrib- 
uted is nothing more than an exaggeration of the swiftness and 
ease with which the bird takes its prey. 

37. Carry . . . even, wear his honors with moderation. 

38, 9. Which . . . man, pride, with which men of uninter- 
rupted good fortune are always tainted. 

41, 2. or whether . . . thing, or whether it was his stubborn 
nature that was incapable of changing itself. 

42, 3. not moving . . . cushion, his nature which, so used to 
war, could not adapt itself to peaceful matters ; the casque, 
or helmet, symbolical of war; the cushion, of civil adminis- 
tration. 

44. austerity and garb, a hendiadys for austere garb, the 
austere fashion of doing things which the necessity of stern dis- 
cipline in war had taught him. 

46, 7. As he . . . him, for he has touches of all these failings, 
though I may admit that they are but touches, not the weak- 
nesses fully developed. 

48. So . . . banish'd, the consequence of his being feared 
was that before long he became hated, the consequence of his 
being hated was that before long he was driven into exile. 

48, 9. but . . . utterance, he has a merit for nn other pur- 
pose than to destroy it by publishing it, putting it forth. 

49, 50. So our . . . time, our virtues depend (for their efficacy) 
upon the manner in which we interpret, and adapt ourselves 
to, surrounding circumstances. 



220 CORIOLANUS. [act v. 

51-3. And power . . . done, if the reading is genuine here, 
the meaning probably is, and power {i.e. a man in high position) 
however much it may consider itself deserving of praise, has 
no such certain grave of its reputation as a chair from which 
it pronounces its own eulogy. 

55. Rights . . . fail, rights give way to other and better 
rights ; power, however great, has to yield when it meets 
greater power. 

Act V. Scene I. 

3. In a . . . particular, with a special affection ; particular, 
personal relation. 

S, 6. knee . . . mercy, make your way on your knees to his 
heart ; coy'd, showed himself reluctant ; disdained. 

11, 2. Coriolanus ... to, when addressed as ' Coriolanus,' 
he would not acknowledge that title as belonging to him : for- 
bad all names, forbade us to call him by any name. 

25, 6. He could not . . , chaff, he could not pause to pick 
them out from among a heap of such miserable wretches as the 
people in general; noisome, troublesome, offensive. 

37. More than . . . make, more than any army we could 
get together in so sudden an emergency. 

46-7. after . . . well, proportioned to your good intentions. 

52. pout . . . morning, look at everything in a fretful mood, 
with a jaundiced eye : unapt, disinclined. These reflections 
come appositely from one who has described himself as 
Menenius does in ii. 1. 

56, 7. watch . . . request, wait for the moment when he 
will be in the mood to listen to my request. 

61. Speed how it will, whatever the result may be ; the 
original sense of the substantive s/>eed is success. 

62. success, see note on i. 1. 250. 

63. does sit in gold, sits enthroned in awful majesty. 

64. 5. his injury . . . pity, his sense of wrong done him 
chaining up his mercy. 

67-9. what he . . . conditions, he sent in writing after I 
had been dismissed a statement of what he would do, and what 
he would not do ; he being bound by an oath to fulfil the terms 
on which he had made alliance with the Volscians. 

Scene II. 

8. Good my friends, for this transposition, see Abb. § 13. 

10. it is . . . blanks, lots must be taken to mean those 
papers in a lottery which awarded a prize, as opposed to blanks, 
blank papers, which awarded nothing. 



SC. ii.] NOTES. 221 

12, 3. the virtue . . . passable, your name does not serve 
as a passport. 

14. lover, dear friend ; formerly frequent in this sense. 

16. haply amplified, possibly exaggerated. 

18, 9. with all . . . suffer, so far as was possible without 
lapsing into untruth. 

20. subtle, slippery; literally fine, slender, then insinuating, 
sly, morally slippery. 

21. I've . . . throw, have shot beyond the mark ; the throw, 
the distance which the bowl should have been bowled. 

22. Have . . . leasing, " have almost given the lie such a 
sanction as to render it current " (Malone). 

29. always . . . general, who in all matters took the side 
of, etc. 

30. Howsoever . . . liar, whatever lies you may have told 
on his behalf ; or Howsoever may = although. 

31. telling . . . him, serving under bim and speaking the 
truth. 

39. in a . . . ignorance, in a paroxysm of popular stupidity. 

40. your shield, him who was to you what the shield is to 
the body : to front, to confront. 

41. the virginal . . . daughters, the hands of your young 
maidens held up in supplication. 

42. palsied, tremulous ; palsy, a contraction of the Y.para- 
lysie : decayed dotant, feeble old dotard. 

46. out of, beyond the possibility of. 

48. estimation, esteem, respect. 

53, 4. the utmost . . . having, all you will get out of me. 

59. a Jack guardant, a Jack-in-office ; the old man's retort 
for •' decayed dotant," Jack being used for a saucy boy, and 
with an allusion to the heraldic term " guardant " : office me, 
keep me by your officiousness from, etc. 

60. by my . . . him, by the way in which you will see him 
receive me. 

61. standest . . . hanging, are not in a fair way to being 
hanged. 

62. more . . . spectatorship, which will afford the lookers- 
on a prolonged enjoyment of your agony. 

64,5. sit . . . prosperity, constantly deliberate in what way 
your happiness above all men may be increased ; synod, con- 
vocation, assembly. 

68. hardly moved, with difficulty induced. 

72. the dregs, what is left of it being sufficient for the 
punishment of such a contemptible fellow : varlet, formerly a 
groom, then any low fellow ; an older spelling, says Skeat, 
was vaslet, a diminutive of O. F. vassal. 

77-9. though . . . breasts, though the revenge I seek is 



222 CORIOLANUS. [act v. 

peculiarly my own, any mercy I may show depends upon the 
will of the Volscians. 

79-81. That we . . . much, the remembrance of our having 
once been friends shall be allowed to peushof ingratitude and 
forgetfuiness rather than the closeness of such friendship be 
borne in mind by pity. 

83. for, since. 

92. shent, A.S. scendan, scyndan, O. Du. sckenden, O. H. G. 
scendan, scentan. from sc/zande, disgrace, revile. 

97. by himself, by his own act. 

98, 9. be that . . . age ! I cannot wish you any worse fate 
than that you should long continue what you are. 



Scene III. 

3. how plainly, with what a straightforward loyalty to the 
Volscians. 

11. godded, idolized, worshipped as a god. 
15. cannot now accept, i.e. from very pride. 

29. Of stronger earth, of more inflexible nature. 

30. Olympus, the eastern part of the chain of mountains 
which formed the southern boundary of ancient Greece, and 
the fabled residence of the gods. 

35. to obey instinct, as to yield to mere natural feelings. 

39, 40. The sorrow . . . so, Virgilia, affecting to take his 
words literally, replies, it is only that we are so changed by 
sorrow that you do not see us as you once did. 

43. tyranny, cruelty. 

46. the jealous . . . heaven* " i.e. by Juno, the guardian of 
marriage, and consequently the avenger of connubial perfidy " 
(Johnson). 

47, 8. and my true . . . since, and since then my loyal lips 
have known no kiss from other lip ; it, used indefinitely. 

51, 2. Of thy . . . sons, give stronger evidence of your deep 
sense of duty than ordinary sons would do ; with a play upon 
deep and impression. 

54-6. and unproperly . . . parent, and, contrary to all no- 
tions of what is proper, let me make dutiful obeisance to you, 
as though the submission of children to parents was an inver- 
sion of the natural order of things. 

58. hungry, sterile, unprolific. 
' 59. Fillip, "to strike with the finger nail, when jerked from 
under the thumb ... an easier form of filp. which arose from 
flip, by the shifting of /" (Skeat, Ety. Diet.). 

61, 2. Murdering . . . work, making what cannot be, the 
easiest thing in the world. 



sc. in.] NOTES. 223 

64. Publicola, Publius Valerius, surnamed Pubiicola from 
the services he rendered to the people, took an active part in 
the expulsion of the Tarquins, and was three times consul. 

65. The moon of Rome, the Diana (goddess of chastity)- 
among Roman women. It is to her that Plutarch ascribes the 
idea of the ladies 1 intercession with Coriolanus. 

71, 2. inform . . . nobleness, shape your thoughts in all- 
nobleness. 

73. stick, stand out firmly. 

74,5. Like . . . flaw, like some conspicuous mark at sea firm 
against every blast, and a refuge for all who can discern you 
in their distress. 

75. sirrah, generally, but not always, used in a peremptory 
cr contemptuous manner. 

80, i. The things . . . denials, you can never regard me as 
refusing to you the things which I have bound myself by an 
oath not to grant. 

82. capitulate, enter into negotiations ; literally to divide 
into chapters, arrange under headings ; now used only in the 
sense of surrendering. 

86. Your colder reasons, your more temperate arguments. 

94, 5. our raiment . . . life, the state of our raiment and the 
condition of our bodies would show plainly what kind of life, 
etc. Wright points out that bewray "although used almost 
interchangeably with ' betray, 1 differs from it in not necessarily- 
involving the idea of treachery." The greater part of this 
speech is taken almost word for word from Plutarch. 

104. capital, fatal, destructive. 

111-3. We must . . . win, calamity must plainly be ours, 
even if our wish were gratified as to which side should be 
victorious. 

114. a foreign recreant, no longer a Roman ; recreant^ 
originally the present participle of the F. verb recroire, to be- 
lieve again, to alter one's faith. 

115. manacles, strictly speaking, fetters for the hands ; 
thorough, through, lengthened for the sake of the meter. 

117. bear the palm, ironical for, be notorious instead of 
famous. 

120. determine, come to an end ; in this sense used chiefly 
in legal phraseology. 

122. the end, the object of it (sc. Corioli), viz. the destruction 
of Rome. 

126, 7. to keep . . . time, to hand down your name to future 
times : A', he ; so sometimes '«;« for them. 

129, 30. Not of . . . see, to avoid yielding to womanly tender- 
ness, one ought never to see the face of woman or child. 

132-5. If it were . . . honor, if our prayer to you to save the 



224 CORIOLANUS. [act v. 

Romans involved your destroying the Volscians, whose servant 
you now are. you might condemn us as asking something 
which would be a deathblow to your honor. 

139. Give . . . thee, greet you with acclamations of honor 
such as are addressed to kings. 

146. he wiped it out, blotted out his title to be called noble. 

149. Thou hast . . . honor, it has ever been your aim te show 
yourself animated by the most chivalrous impulses. 

151-3. To tear . . . oak, like them to thunder in tones which 
should strike terror into every heart, and yet, like them, in 
-mercy to let the lightning of your wrath fall with but sparing 
destruction. In charge the figure is that of loading a cannon, 
the sulphur which accompanied Jove's thunderbolts answer- 
ing to the gunpowder which propels the cannon-ball. 

160. the stocks, a contrivance for punishing vagrants and 
petty offenders, consisting of two blocks of wood, one above 
the other, working on a hinge, with the lower edge of the 
upper block and the upper edge of the lower block cut away 
so as to admit the legs of the offender, which were then con- 
fined by the end opposite to the hinge being fastened by a pad- 
lock. These stocks were to be seen in every village of Eng- 
land not very many }^ears ago. 

165. not so, not unjust. 

167. That thou . . . belongs, that you do not show me that 
dutiful submission which a son ought to show to his mother. 

171. an end, here we will make an end of our supplications. 

178. to, for. 

179. 80. this child which bears his name, owes to accident, 
not to real paternity, the likeness he bears to him: dispatch, 
permission to return. 

186. to Rome, for Rome, as far as Rome is concerned. 
188, 9. Most ... to him, the victory you have gained over 
him. is one that will be most dangerous, if not fatal, to him. 

190. true wars, war in which the objects of the Volscians 
shall be faithfully kept in view. 

191. convenient, suitable. 

194. withal, sc. by her entreaties. 

196. to sweat compassion, to shed tears of pity. 

199. Stand to me. support me against all complaints that 
may be made by your fellow-countrymen. 

202. Ay, by and by, yes, very shortly ; in answ r er to some 
request made by the ladies. 

204. A better witness, stronger evidence, sc. in a formal 
agreement drawn up on paper. 



sc. iv., v., vi.] NOTES. 225 



Scene IV. 

1. coign, corner, from F. cot Kg, a corner, Lat. cuneus, a 
wedge. 

8. condition, nature. 

15. Than an . . . horse, sc. remembers his dam: tartness, 
acidity, sour looks ; A.S. teart, sharp, severe. 

19. state, chair of state. 

24. in the character, in his true character; for the, denot- 
ing notoriety, see Abb. § 92. 

27. long of you, along of you, owing to you. 

34. hale ... down, are dragging him first in one direction, 
then in another; hale, the older form of haul, from A.S. holian, 
to acquire, get. 

38. are dislodg'd, have broken up their encampment. 

40. not the . . . Tarquins, not even that on which the Tar- 
quins were expelled. 

44. blown tide, tide swollen by the wind ; the arch making 
it more boisterous by its restraint. 

45. the recomforted, those who by hearing the news have 
had fresh comfort given them. 

46. sack-buts, '* a kind of wind-instrument . . . The sack-but 
resembled the modern trombone . . . the word is used to trans- 
late the.Heb. sabbeka, Lat. savibuca, which was a stringed in- 
strument" . . . (Skeat, Ety. Diet.): psalteries, a kind of 
stringed instrument ... — O. F '. psalterie,~\-.2X. psalter ium 
— a recollection no doubt of Daniel, iii. 7, " That at what time 
ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sack-but, psaltery \ 
dulcimer and all kinds of music," etc. 

47. cymbals, brazen disks, held one in each hand and clashed 
together. 

48. Make the sun dance, make the very sun rejoice with us. 

Scene V. 

1. the life of Rome, to whom Rome owes its life. 

4. Unshout . . . Marcius, cancel the shouts with which 
you banished Marcius by still louder ones in his honor. 

5. Repeal . . . mother, by the welcome you give to his 
mother proclaim his recall. 

Scene VI. 

5. Him I accuse, he whom I accuse ; Him put for he by at- 
traction to whom understood. 

6. by this, sc. time. 



226 C0R10LANUS. [act v. 

8. To purge himself, to clear himself of all charges to be 
brought against him. 

13, 4. If you do . . . parties, if you still adhere to that pur 
pose in which you desired our co-operation. 

16. "We must . . . people, our action must be guided by the 
temper in which we find the citizens. 

18. 'Twixt . . . difference, there is a dispute between you 
and Coriolanus. 

20, 1. And my . . . construction, and I can easily put a 
plausible construction upon my pretext for ruining him: 
pawn'd, pledged. 

25. bow'd his nature, humbled himself. 

27. stoutness, stubbornness. 

35, 6. served . . . person, helped by my own personal ser- 
vice to carry out his designs. 

37. which he . . . his, which he garnered up for himself. 
Wright has shown that to end was the technical term for get- 
ting in and housing a crop, and that it is probably a corruption 
of to inn used in that sense. 

40, 1. He wag'd . . . mercenary, he treated me as one 
whose services could be bought and were well paid for by 
patronizing looks. 

43. had carried, had virtually captured : and that, and 
when that. 

44, 5. There was . . . him, that is the very matter for which 
I will use my utmost efforts to destroy him. 

46. At a few . . . rheum, for a few tears. 

47, 8. he sold . . . action, he bartered away all the lives we 
had lost and all the labors we had undergone in our great 
enterprise. 

49. And I'll . . . fall, and in his downfall will regain my 
former standing. 

50. like a post, with no more ceremony than attends a mes- 
senger bringing news. 

54. at your vantage, when a chance offers. 

57. second, assist : along, stretched out a corpse. 

58, 9. After your . . . body, the story of his behavior, told 
as you tell it, will be the grave of the reasons he may plead, as 
the earth will be the grave of his body. 

64. What faults he made, we now say to commit a fault, to 
make a mistake. 

65. Might . . . fines, might have escaped with but slight 
punishment. 

65-9. but there . . . excuse, but nothing can palliate the 
fact of his having brought our enterprise to an end at the very 
point where it should have begun in earnest (i.e. by the cap- 
ture of Rome), and of his having thrown away the whole ad- 



sc. vi.] NOTES. 227 

vantage gained by the raising of our army, giving us for our 
only recompense the burden of the outlay, and making peace 
at the very moment when our enemies were ready to offer 
their submission. 

71. your soldier, still at your command. 

78. a full . . . part, the expenses being paid, with a surplus 
of as much as a third of the amount. 

83, 4 what . . . on, the terms of our treaty. 

93. certain drops of salt, a few bitter tears. 

94. I say " your city," sc. since, but for his perfidy, it would 
be yours. 

96. twist, a few threads twisted together. 

96, 7. never . . . war, never allowing the advice of any one 
as to how the war should be managed : at his nurse's tears, 
the moment his mother began to weep ; nurse's, used con- 
temptuously. 

106, 7. Your judgments . . . lie, I must trust to your decis- 
ion to brand this coward as a liar : notion, understanding. 

108, 9. "Who wears . . . grave, who still bears on his body 
the marks of my blows, and must carry to his grave the dis- 
grace of being cudgeled by me. 

114. 't is there, it is written there. 

116. Flutter'd, caused the hearts of your Volscians to nutter 
with fear like timid doves: your, contemptuously. 

118, 9. Will you . . . braggart, will you suffer yourselves to 
be reminded by this accursed boaster of his undeserved good 
fortune and your disgrace ? 

121. presently, at once. 

127. judicious, here apparently = judicial. 

128. the peace, sc. which would otherwise prevail. 

129. his tribe, the whole of his race. 
133. valor, all brave men. 

138. Which this . . . you, which, while this man lived, 
would sooner or later have fallen upon you. 

140-2. I'll deliver . . . censure, I will prove my loyalty to 
you, or submit to any sentence you may be pleased to pass 
upon me. 

144, 5. that ever . . . urn, " this allusion is to a custom un- 
known, I believe, to the ancients, but observed in the public 
funerals of English princes, at the conclusion of which a her- 
ald proclaims the style [i.e. -titles] of the deceased " (Steevens); 
urn, grave. 

145, 6. His own . . . blame, Coriolanus's own violence in a 
great measure excuses Aufidius's deed. 

151. Trail . . . pikes, in following the corpse of a soldier to 
the grave the pikes were trailed, drawn along the ground, just 



228 CORIOLANUS. [act v. 

as nowadays the rifle of the private and the sword of the offi- 
cer are carried reversed. 

152. unchilded, made childless. 

154. memory, memorial. 

Stage Direction. A dead march, the music played at the 
funeral of a soldier. 



EXAMINATION PAPER. 

A. 

i. Give an outline or a short account of the play. 

2. Point out the admirable qualities of Coriolanus. 

3. Sketch the relations of the patricians to the plebeians at 

this time. 

4. State by whom, of whom, or to whom, and on what 

occasions, these lines were uttered : — 

(a) He that trusts to you, 

Where he should find you lions, finds you hares. 

(b) And, were I anything but what I am, 

I 'd wish me only he. 

(c) A very little thief of occasion will rob you of a great 

deal of patience. 

(d) One that loves a cup of hot wine with not a drop of 

allaying Tiber in 't. 

(e) He had rather venture all his limbs for honor 

Than one on 's ears to hear 't. 

5. Explain and annotate these words and phrases : 

The helms <?' the state; good; participate; ruth; 
quarry; demerits; Cambric; Uarum; pound; co?ita- 
gion of the south; murrai?t; doit; drachma; doublet; 
vaward; fusty; caparison; articulate; potch. 

6. Give some examples from this play of Shakespeare's 

anachronisms. 

7. Quote from this play several noteworthy lines. 

229 



230 EXAMINATION PAPER. 

B. 

i. Give your view of Menenius. Note the points of 
resemblance and of difference between him and 
Coriolanus. 

2. What authority had the Tribunes at this time in Rome ? 

3. Trace the growth of their power. 

4. Give the gist of Cominius's speech upon the exploits of 

Coriolanus. 

5. What use in this play did Shakespeare make of 

" Plutarch's Lives " ? 

6. In what spirit did Coriolanus make his suit to the 

people ? 

7. Quote the passage in Macbeth of which 

' ' I am half through : 
The one part suffer'd, th' other will I do,"' 

reminds you ? 

8. Explain and annotate these words and phrases : — 

Napless vesture of humility; lockram; rapture; 
lurched all swords of- the garland; attend; still; 
Hob and Dick; rub; sithence; bound; cockle; 
measles; ' Tivas from the canon; worship; tag; clean 
katn; awry; vassals; sconce; ostler; cog. 

9. Give instances of words in this play whose meaning has 

changed since Shakespeare's day. 

10. Give the classical allusions in this play. 

11. Who were the asdiles ? 

C. 

1. Give the points of strength and the points of weakness 
in the character of Volumnia. 



EXAMINATION PAPER. 231 

2. Wherein, if at all, does Virgilia resemble her mother-in- 

law ? 

3. Was Coriolanus a true patriot ? If not, wherein not ? 

4. What can you say of Aufidius ? 

5. What of the dialogue between the servants of Aufidius ? 

6. What is the difference between the nomen, the prce- 

nomen, and the agnomen? Illustrate, in the name 
of the hero of the play. 

D. 

1. Explain and annotate these words and phrases : — 

Parasite; butts me away; baited; puling; can- 
opy; clip; maims; vent; sowl; coxcomb; subtle; 
leasing; varlet; fillip; determine; stocks; coign; 
sack-but; rheum; salt. 

2. Give any notable imagery in the play. 

3. In what spirit does Coriolanus, in the last Scene, repeat 

the word boy ? 

4. What do you think of the interview between Coriolanus 

and his mother outside the gates of Rome ? 

5. Quote the memorable passages in their dialogue. 

6. How does this play compare with Julhis Ccesar ? 

7. Where are its scenes laid ? 

8. What period of Roman history is covered by the action 

of the play ? 

9. What characters in the play are almost wholly Shake- 

speare's creation ? 
10. Is Shakespeare unjust to the plebeians ? 



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